The US Department of Labour has sought public comment in the next 60 days on determining the employment rates for various immigrant and non-immigrant workers, including those on H-1B visas, the most sought-after work visa among Indian professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the US companies to hire foreign workers for special jobs that require technical or theoretical expertise. Technology companies rely on it to employ tens of thousands of workers each year from countries such as India and China. In a government statement released on Friday, the U.S. Department of Labour urged the public to respond to their request within the next 60 days.
The Department of Employment Administration and Training’s application follows an earlier departmental proclamation proposing an 18-month delay on the first day of the final law, to change the existing wage rates of immigration and non-immigrant workers. Published on January 2021, the final law applies to employers who want to hire foreign workers permanently or temporarily with certain immigration visas or with H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 foreign visas.
While the E-3 visa is the only one for Australian citizens, the H-1B1 visa is for people from Singapore and Chile. The proposed delays will give agency officials enough time to calculate and verify existing wage details covering specific jobs and areas, complete the necessary program changes and make public access. The rule was passed by Trump’s administration, who had called for a review of compulsory wages after losing a court battle with organizations including the Bay Area Council, over the initial version.
According to the Department of Labour, delays in the proposed law on the effective date will result in a reduction in the cost of transfers, in the form of higher wages from employers to H-1B employees. Also, the proposed law would delay the weight loss potential if employers require higher pay than H-1B employees, who are willing to accept results on H-1B caps that they do not meet. The Department has seen that the annual H-1B cap is achieved in the first five business days each year from fiscal 2014 to 2020.
In February, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that assessed and assigned H-1B applications, said it had received a sufficient number of complaints needed to achieve Congressionally standard 65,000 H-1B visa and 20,000 H-1B advanced US visa release, known as a master cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2021.Biden officials in February announced a delay in Trump’s previous H-1B policy on the issuance of popular foreign work visas by continuing the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigrant company more time to develop, evaluate and implement changes to the registration system. On January 7, USCIS announced the abolition of the traditional lottery system in determining successful applicants for H-1B visas.
