USCIS POLICY MEMO
What is 'Garden Leave' & does the 60-day H-1B visa grace period apply to such situations?
The termination of H-1B workers can be complex, especially when garden leave is involved. The ambiguity arises from the period between formal notice and payment cessation. While USCIS guidelines lean towards the formal notice date for termination, discretion is allowed based on individual circumstances.
H-1B denial rates for new application drops to 4% in fiscal 2021
“The 4 per cent denial rate in fiscal 2021 for new H-1B petitions was similar to the rate before Donald Trump took office, meaning the Trump years were an aberration due to imposing restrictive policies that courts found to be unlawful,” said Stuart Anderson, executive director, NFAP.
H-1B visa approval rates higher in FY21 as demand rises for tech talent in U.S.
Approval rates had fallen during the Trump administration as the USCIS started rejecting a higher number of visa applications or asking for additional supporting documents to be submitted.
US issues more H-1B visas as tech talent demand climbs
The US administration has issued a higher number of H-1B visas this year as demand for technology talent in the country continues to surge. Approval rates for H-1B visas in the quarter to June and in the first three quarters of the US financial year were 98.
Visa or extension applications will not be denied outright, under new USCIS policy
USCIS has rescinded a Trump-era (July 2018) memo that permitted immigration officers to deny benefit requests (say a visa application, or an extension application) outright, instead of first seeking further evidence or issuing a notice of intent to deny (NOID).
Biden admin to reconsider objections to H-1B visas during Trump regime
The move is expected to come to the rescue of a large number of Indian IT professionals who were having a tough time during the previous Trump administration due to various policies and memorandums on non-immigrant work visas, in particular H-1B.
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ETtech Morning Dispatch on Feb. 8, 2021: An exit at Twitter, Mahindra-Amazon EV deal, Bellatrix's space taxi
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Biden rescinds Trump memo denying H-1B visa to programmers
In Financial Year 2020, "computer programmer" was among the Top 10 occupational roles for which an H-1B/H-1B1/E3 petition had been filed.
Joe Biden revokes buy American, hire American order, eases path to H-1B
The move is expected to translate into fewer visa rejections and requests for evidence in the upcoming visa lottery in April for the financial year 2022 which begins on October 1.
H-1B Visa rejection rates dropped drastically in July-September 2020
H-1B visa rejection rate fell to 1.5% in the July-September period compared to 21% in the previous nine months, an analysis of US immigration data shows.
H-1B ‘speciality’ visas can be granted to computer programmers, says American court
In this case, heard by the appellate court, Innova Solutions had sought to hire an Indian citizen to work as a computer programmer. The H-1B visa application was denied by USCIS. A US employer who wants to sponsor staffers under the H-1B programme has to show that the position requires “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialised knowledge”.
US visa denial rates for Indian companies remain high
Companies like Tech Mahindra, L&T and Infosys reported denial rates of 30%, 26% and 58% respectively, along with companies like Cognizant (48%) that follow a similar business model. In contrast, US tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook reported much lower visa denials at 7%, 1%, 3% and 1% respectively.
Unraveling of Trump policies a distant hope for separated immigrant families
While immigrants have faced hurdles settling in the United States for generations and illegal immigration has bedeviled both Republican and Democratic administrations, critics contend no recent administration has moved faster and more aggressively to carry out a restrictive immigration agenda.
H-1B visa: Denial rates for IT services companies continue to remain high
There were six Indian companies among the top 25 employers, and only one, Tata Consultancy Services, among the top ten. The denial rates for these companies, and others like Cognizant (52%), Deloitte (41%) and Accenture(31%) who bring in employees and place them at client locations was significantly higher than product and technology companies like Facebook (7%) and Microsoft (12%).
New US rules for H-1B visa to benefit Indian IT
New rules have been put in place to determine employer-employee relationships while issuing H-1B visas.
Neufeld memo: US Court scraps old memo used to deny H-1B visas
The US court for the District of Columbia invalidated what is known as the ‘Neufeld Memo’ used since 2010 by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to establish an employee-employer relationship, in order to delay or deny work permits to technology workers, a majority of whom are Indian nationals.
US court sets aside plea, IT service companies will need to file more evidence when hiring H-1Bs
IT cos have failed to convince a US court that submitting detailed evidence for H-1B visa has caused them harm.
H-1B visas: US judge rules against outsourcers
The companies, led by outsourcing provider Kollasoft, were seeking to “stay the legal effects” of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) denial of 27 unique H-1B visa applications as it claimed those denials were based on illegal or ultra vires rules promulgated in a February 2018 policy memo issued by USCIS.
US judge rules against outsourcing firm
The companies, led by outsourcing provider Kollasoft, were seeking to “stay the legal effects” of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ denial of 27 unique H1B visa applications as it claimed those denials were based on illegal or ultra vires rules promulgated in a February 2018 policy memo issued by USCIS.
Two years on, how Trump's BAHA law is making life tough for Indian H-1B seekers
The going has been tough for techies working on IT projects onsite, especially since April 2017.
Massive H-1B denial rates for Indian IT companies under Trump Admin, says report
According to the study on data received from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services by National Foundation for American Policy, denial rates for H-1B visas is the highest among major Indian IT companies (compared to US companies)- about 43% on average (Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys, Wipro) in 2019 thereby witnessing a 9-fold rise from 2015 .
USCIS sought additional information for 60% H-1B applications last quarter
In numerical terms, nearly 60,000-odd RFEs were sent during the first quarter of fiscal 2019 as opposed to 1.50 lakh during fiscal 2018 and 86,000 odd in fiscal 2017.
US makes it tougher for companies to employ fresh foreign workers under H-1B
US has introduced a new set of stringent provisions, making it tougher to sponsor fresh foreign workers.
'Donald Trump admin's policies on H1B creating uncertainties among small IT firms in US'
Founded in 2010, IT Serve Alliance has more than 1,000 members, a majority of whom are owned by Indian Americans, reflecting the dominance of the community in this sector.
Changes in visa rules to have serious adverse consequences on US economy: Nasscom
A memo switches the authority to issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) in most instances from US Immigration to USCIS.
Fresh H-1B memo means more paper trail for Indian IT
The memo issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office makes it compulsory to seek evidence on the visa petitioners’ speciality occupation.
Tougher H-1B norms open doors for India's real talent
Nasscom said that several of its member executives had noted recently that they are applying for visas for higher level professionals this year.
H-1B policy memo to have little impact on Indian IT industry: Nasscom
Some experts have also called out misuse of the H-1B visa system by Indian IT services firms. Indian IT industry has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Trump's H-1B policy sends shock waves across companies
The ruling reverses the US' more than decades and a half old guidelines, that were issued in the context of addressing the new millennium needs.
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