Thought Garage

Its no longer a hearsay or a rumor that some Professionals on H1B had trouble getting Visa stampings in their home countries.  When I first shared a similar story with friends and colleagues almost a couple of months ago, most of them didn’t believe and suspected that there must be something not appropriate with that professional, so encountered issues with Visa stamping. Listen to this NPR’s Market Place story that reports that lots of H1B professionals that left for India recently had trouble coming back.

 

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. She said her agency is stepping up checks on the H-1B visa program. Those are the visas that let highly skilled foreign professionals work in the U.S. when no qualified American can be found.

Professionals from India — often tech workers — have generally taken a big chunk of those visas. But a lot of them are now finding it harder to get them renewed. So they’re stuck in their home country.

Source: Market Place

It was reported in that story that Homeland Security has stepped up security checks on the H1B visa program and your Visa renewal may take much longer time than it normally do. I would also assume, the current economic conditions have some say in those decisions as well.  With the growing unemployment in almost all sectors, it would be difficult for most employers to justify continue hiring a H1B. So if you are leaving for your home country that need to have Visa renewed, be prepared to wait for a long time.

Most important things to take care of are your current job with your employer and any payments that must be made. Discuss with your employer the possibility of delays and try to setup your laptop such that you can work from India if the need arises. That will ensure you get at least your regular paychecks and keep your cash flow for payments. If it is not possible, make sure to have alternate arrangements for any regular payments. Leave enough reserve in your bank to handle any contingencies or have your friends take care for some.

Also, take all the information required to make any adjustments to all your Loans, Credit Card payments, Apartment leases etc. so that if the need arises you can contact right from India itself and negotiate better terms. Many times, your friends may not be able to discuss even though they may have all the information.

This is the most trickiest and yet the most popular question asked on this blog and in direct emails to me, Will the H1B rush we have witnessed in 2007 and 2008 repeat this year in 2009 as well? The official H1B year 2010 starts from October 1st of 2009. USCIS will accept petitions starting from 1st of April, 2009. Please visit USCIS website for accurate and timely information. Now the answer to that question, without any doubt, a

Big NO.

That’s right. As far as I understand, its a BIG NO. Its my gut feeling and I could be totally wrong. It is very unlikely that USCIS will run in to lottery this year. I will be surprised if even the cap is reached this year.

Enough Engineers in US and still searching.

Well there are many reasons for it. First of all, there are more than enough IT consultants and Engineers already in US still searching for a job as I write this post. So, I don’t think there is any reason for companies to look to hire somebody on H1B from a different country and bring them to US.

Now, that is true in case of American firms. What about US based consulting arms of non-American firms? These firms like Infosys, Wipro may still file for the bigger chunks of H1B petitions this year, though those numbers will be lot lower compared to 2008 and 2007.

Very unlikely that H1Bs will be filed/hired by most financial companies.

Firms that received TARP (stimulus/bailout money) from US government are less likely to engage H1B work force due to new restrictions on these firms. In simple terms, if a company that received TARP money and if it laid off in last three months or will lay off next three months an American worker (includes Citizens as well as Permanent Residents), it can not hire a H1B or file petition for a H1B. This rule effectively starts from 17th Feb 2009 and will be effective for two years. Please visit USCIS website for more and accurate information on this. I would assume that many other firms that may not have received TARP money will also follow the suit and try to hire skilled engineers that are already available in the market before thinking about H1B choice.

Dearth of Jobs/Consulting offers in Recession Market

This is the most direct reason. Job Market is badly hit with lay offs and job prospects are quite bleak in almost every functional area. With so much uncertainty in the job market, most consulting firms as well as individuals may not risk trying this route.

Some more reasons I heard recently include ..

• rumors that Consulates are rejecting work Visas owing to reasons similar to above and
• rumors that most H1B body shopping firms are under extensive scrutiny and investigation for fraud

This is completely based on my own limited understanding of the whole process and market conditions. Please do not use this opinion for making any sort of decisions.

Recently there has been some discussion about USCIS issuing multi-year EADs to applicants that are waiting on Adjustment of Status. Particularly keeping in view a huge number of applicants that filed last summer. You can read more regarding this question asked by attorneys in this document released by USCIS. USCIS hasn’t committed any dates in the answer but said will look into this matter.

I was searching for something and found this document by USCIS that is meant for asylees and USCIS indicated that it will issue multi-year EADs up to 5 years. So, multi-year EAD concept is not new to USCIS, its just that it is not applied to regular applicants that are waiting on AOS(I-485). Another point to note is that multi-year EAD isn’t any cheaper as most of us might be looking. Its almost yearly EAD fees * Number of years ( little less may be). May be you can save your attorney filing fees and filing expenses if you can apply for a multi-year EAD.

Hope USCIS looks into the matter at the earliest and issue multi-year EADs to all those applicants that are waiting on AOS.

With an interim rule announced by DHS recently,  certain students on F-1 can work for a total of 29 months on OPT before they get employment under H1B. Earlier, students could work only for 12 months maximum on OPT.

I have received numerous emails on how to apply for an extension to OPT. While I was not an authority on legalities involved, a quick look at the interim rule, I found some information. Please refer to the  DHS Release : Optional Practical Training Interim Final Rule(PDF) for more information.

Also note that students who apply for this extension, must also comply with the new 6 monthly reporting requirements. Read the document thoroughly to understand your responsibilities and eligibility criteria.

(quoting from the DHS Document linked below)

1. Students who wish to extend OPT must request that their DSO recommend the 17-month OPT extension. DSOs recommending the extension must verify the student’s eligibility, certify that the student’s degree is on the STEM Designated Degree Program List, and ensure that the student is aware of his or her responsibilities for maintaining status while on OPT. The DSO must make the recommendation to extend OPT for the student through SEVP’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-enabled database for the collection of information related to F, M and J nonimmigrants, certified schools, and State Department approved exchange visitor programs.

2. Once the DSO recommends a student for the extension, the student must submit a Form 1-765 and appropriate fees (as indicated in the form instructions) to USCIS. Instructions for filing the Form 1-765 can be found at USCIS’ website at www.uscis.eov.

Please note that your Employer also must meet certain requirements.
Refer to DHS Release : Optional Practical Training Interim Final Rule(PDF) for more information.

Previously mentioned as a comment at Thought Garage » F-1 Students Can Work on OPT for 29 Months

USCIS announced today that  it conducted the two phased Random Selection process to pick H1B petitions. If you have filed for premium processing, you should hear a decision in 2 weeks from today. If not, you should hear no later than 2nd June.

As previously mentioned, USCIS mentioned that it will short list little more than mandated cap of 65000 + 20000. Read more about  the waiting list in USCIS original update.

USCIS conducted two random selections, first on petitions qualifying for the 20,000 “master’s or higher degree” (advanced degree) exemption, and second on the remaining advance degree petitions together with the general H-1B pool of petitions, for the 65,000 cap. 

USCIS Update (26KB PDF)

USCIS Runs Random Selection Process For H-1B Petitions