New work-permit fees proposed in the Senate’s immigration bill mean companies such as Accenture, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services that depend on employees from overseas would foot the bill for stepped-up border-control measures. The measure would double, to $4,825, the cost of H-1B visas for highly skilled employees from overseas. It also would expand the [...] Read more »
High-skilled visa requests likely to exceed available supply faster than in years past
The Homeland Security Department expects applications for high-skilled immigration visas to outpace the available supply in a matter of days, one of the fastest runs on the much-sought-after work permits in years and a sign of continued economic recovery amid new hiring by U.S. technology companies. The urgent race for such visas — highly desired [...] Read more »
US announces cap on 65,000 H-1B work visas
WASHINGTON: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it has reached the cap on Congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B work visas, the most sought after by Indian professionals. This is for the first time in several years, in particular during the recent economic crisis, that the cap on H-1B visas, for technology professionals, [...] Read more »
Increase H-1B visa numbers for skilled workers
On April 2, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services opened applications for the coveted H-1B visas. H-1B status allows companies to sponsor immigrants with specialized skills for a set number of years. The government has received 42,000 requests so far, a number that far outpaces last year and makes it likely that the entire [...] Read more »
Skilled-Worker Visas See a Surge in Demand
In a sign of the improving economy, the U.S. government saw a sharp rise in petitions for skilled-foreign-worker visas during the first week of this year’s application season. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received 25,600 petitions for H-1B visas since April 2, nearly twice as many as it received for the entire first [...] Read more »
US consulate denies H-1B visa fee hike
CHENNAI: The US Consulate said it had no plans to raise application fees for visas. “News reports that the fees for submitting H-1B petitions have increased are untrue. The fees are the same as they were last year. There are no plans to change those fees,” said chief of consular services in Chennai Nicholas Manring. [...] Read more »
H-1B visa applications to be accepted from 2nd April: US
WASHINGTON: Applications for the most sought after H-1B work visa – used extensively by Indian IT professionals – for the fiscal beginning October 1, would be accepted beginning April 2, a federal immigration agency announced on Tuesday. The congressionally mandated numerical limitation on H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2012-13 is 65,000, as has been [...] Read more »
IT Inc welcomes easing of US visa norms
NEW DELHI: In good news for Indian travellers, the United States on Wednesday said it would waive the personal interview for some Indians who are renewing their visas, valid or expired, within four years. “This new programme will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 [...] Read more »
US making law to increase India’s share in H-1B visa
HYDERABAD: The US is in the process of making a law to increase India’s share in the much sought after H-1B visas, an American Senator said here on Thursday. According to a report, nearly half of H-1B visa holders in the US are Indians who are hired mostly in the IT industry. Between 2000 and [...] Read more »
H-1B Visas: No More Until Late 2012
The U.S. is no longer accepting applications for H-1B visas for the government’s current fiscal year, meaning that foreign tech workers will not be able submit applications for the temporary work permits until October of next year. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had received enough applications to fill the 65,000 H-1B visa cap [...] Read more »
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