The federal government is proposing major changes to the H-1B visa program intended to allow U.S. companies to hire foreign citizens with specialized skills, including expanding the types of work not subject to an annual cap.
While the plan runs to 227 pages, it leaves unanswered some questions about how the new rules might change the number of H-1B visas and who could receive them.
Silicon Valley technology giants rely heavily on the H-1B to secure top foreign talent. Those companies, and many others in the Bay Area, also employ large numbers of H-1B workers at below-market wages, using staffing and outsourcing companies to secure such employees. Critics cite reported abuses and say companies, including major tech firms and staffing and outsourcing companies, use the H-1B to supplant U.S. workers, drive down wages and facilitate outsourcing.
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday released the proposal, saying it would “modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B program, add benefits and flexibilities, and improve integrity measures.” The new proposal was published Monday in the Federal Register, triggering a 60-day period for public comments the agency will review before publishing a final rule.
The visa, which employers obtain through a lottery on behalf of specific workers, has become a flashpoint in debates over immigration. Replacement of U.S. workers by visa holders has spawned lawsuits, and efforts to shorten the lengthy path to a green card and citizenship for Indian workers — by far the largest group of H-1B recipients — have been ensnared in political gridlock.
Among the most consequential of the planned changes is expanding the types of jobs not subject to the 85,000 annual visa cap, said Ron Hira, a Howard University professor who studies the H-1B.
Many universities, and nonprofit and government research organizations, are exempt from the visa cap. Under current rules, H-1B visas can be awarded to foreign citizens for work…
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