There has been a lot of debate on H1-B visas ever since Trump made an election promise to bring back more jobs for Americans. Though there were more regulations suggested to include in bringing workers from other countries on H1-B visa, one among them, specialty occupation seems to be implemented already.
There were numerous reports that few IT companies were restricted to a limit on raising H1-B visas through their company and employ Americans instead of H1-Bs. There are some unofficial reports saying that a lot of H1-B extensions filed are getting rejected based on different reasons, in last two months particularly.
It is heard that associates with lesser experience are facing more rejections and are being sent back to India, while their skill set is also being considered in rare cases. Many other H1-B and L1 employees reportedly faced rejections in extending their visas, because their graduation background doesn’t fit to be eligible for an H1B visa, say a non-IT background!
While the H1-B turned green card holders are the hotcakes, H1-Bs whose Green card is still under process have become the targets for visa rejections unless they have a specialized skill set that fits to H1-B criteria. This visa holders who got promoted to Managers in recent past are being asked about the ‘role’ they play in the firm and are heard to be heading home to India, as H1-B is for employees with specialized skill/ specialty occupation but not to manage or coordinate employees with them.
The IT companies, after seeing the rise in rejections’ number, started planning on ‘proper’ documentation that can ‘convince’ the immigration authorities, based on employee’s profile and designated role. More than an employee’s performance or responsibilities on shore, the ‘role’ or ‘designation’ is playing a crucial role in approval or rejection of one’s extension.
Even the percentage of employees who are seeing the ‘RFE’ in their emails, after filing the extensions, has been more since some time. RFE is ‘request for evidence’ which sounds like a negative response from USCIS when a visa goes for an extension but is an effort to gain more information about the applicant before making a decision. Employees who have seen ‘RFE’ for more than one time are prone to get their visa extension rejected if the reports are anything to go by.
With a lot of speculations and unofficial news bothering many H1B employees whose visas are in process for extensions, other employees are thinking twice before buying a house or taking a premium car on the lease before they know about their confirmed stay for a while. On the other side, companies are heard to be planning to set up more off-shore teams and near-shore offices to cope up with rejected visas catastrophe.
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