|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Immigration NewsIllegal Immigration
Immigration H1-B Visa Applications Near 2006 Cap
By Brad Taylor
Posted on: August 10, 2005
Employers are scrambling to apply for the few remaining H1-B guest worker visas. So far, companies have applied for nearly 52,000 visas, as they rapidly approach the yearly cap of 65,000 visas. The August 4 tally showed 22,383 cases have been approved with 29,556 cases pending. By the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2005, the number of visas will likely be at the annual ceiling.
In addition to the regular H1-B visas, there is an advanced degree exemption with an additional 20,000 cap. For the advanced degree program, 8,212 applications have been submitted for the next fiscal year.
The H-1B nonimmigrant visas allow U.S. employers to augment their existing labor force with skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years. This allows employers to import professionals in areas like architecture, engineering, medicine, and computer programming.
In order for employer to access the H1-B program, companies must pay the foreign workers the prevailing wage for their profession. Employers must also show that qualified U.S. workers are not being passed over when hiring the foreign workers.
The H1-B visa program has been widely criticized while employers max out the number of foreign workers allowed under this program.
For more on the effects of the H1-B program, see:
Guest Visas Hurt IT Jobs for Women
Immigration Tsunami, Part 3, July 3, 2005.
Guest Visas Hurt IT Jobs for Women, June 27, 2005.
Immigration Tsunami, Part 2, June 23, 2005.
Immigration Tsunami, Part 1, June 17, 2005.
The Immigrant 'Cheap Labor' Myth, May 27, 2005.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
