H-1B visa applications increased by 5% over the last year: US

The number of applications for the H-1B visa has increased marginally over last year by a little over 10,000 to close at 2.01 lakh for the present period 2019-20 (fiscal year 2020). The date for accepting applications had commenced on April 1. The H-1B visas are depending upon by the Indian tech sector for servicing clients in the US, heavily.

The number of applications since past two years has shown an insignificant decline in. The recent rise revealed that in spite of the constricting strategies of the Trump administration, interest in this work visa has not diminished, although large Indian tech companies have over the past few years ramped up hiring of locals in the US.

The agency had proclaimed that it had received an appropriate number of H-1B cap applications to reach the annual 'regular' quota of 65,000. It had also declared that USCIS would regulate if it had received an adequate number of applications to meet the masters' cap.

"This year, at least 42% of cap filings will be selected against the quota of 85,000, though USCIS typically accepts more than the annual quota to account for cases that are ultimately denied or withdrawn. The odds for advanced-degree cases are somewhat higher because these filings get a second chance for selection if they are not chosen in the initial lottery," proclaim Fragomen, a global firm specializing in immigration laws.

Selection in the lottery process does not mean an automatic grant of the H-1B visa. USCIS has been increasing the number of investigations during handling of visa applications, denoted as requests for evidence (RFEs), in recent years. It can seek to reject the application, based on the substantiation submitted.

According to USCIS the top three reasons for rejections of H-1B applications are incapability by the supporting establishment to create the position is a specialty occupation, incapability to substantiate a valid employer-employee relationship and lack of evidence of specific assignment at third party sites for the entire visa-duration requested. Immigration experts say that extreme vetting of applications is likely to continue.