With the H1B visa registration window for fiscal 2026 opening on March 7, the US Department of Homeland Security brought new H1B visa rules to reform the system for both American employers and foreign workers. Effective from January 17, 2025, the H1B program modernization rule redefines ‘specialty occupation’, enhances transparency, reduces visa fraud, assures seamless visa extension, and updates the lottery process.

Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process

Unlike previous years, multiple employers cannot submit applications for the same candidate. USCIS has implemented enhanced measures to prevent duplicate filings by employers for the same beneficiary and ensure that each applicant has an equal chance. Any employer submitting multiple registrations for the same candidate will face disqualification from the H1B lottery system.

New Definition of ‘Specialty Occupation’

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has refined the definition of “specialty occupation” as part of the H1B visa modernization rule in 2025. Previously, possessing a bachelor’s degree in a specific field might have sufficed. Now, your degree must be directly related to the position and the job responsibilities. Employers can list multiple acceptable fields of study, but each must have a clear connection to the job description.

Regular Worksite Inspections

To prevent H1B visa fraud and misuse, the USCIS’s Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit will conduct more frequent worksite inspections, including at third-party client sites. Employers who deny these inspections risk having their petitions denied or revoked. It is essential for companies to maintain detailed records and ensure full compliance with H-1B regulations.

H1B Extension Approval without Re-evaluation

In the new H1B visa rules, USCIS officers are now instructed to defer to prior approvals when deciding on H-1B extension requests. Only if there has been no material change in the previous approval. This means if your job, employer, and circumstances remain unchanged, your visa extension request is more likely to be approved without re-evaluation. However, all required documents must still be provided.

Other H1B Visa Updates for Indians

• The H1B registration fee has increased from $10 to $215 per applicant. This move is intended to deter non-serious applicants and reduce unnecessary applications.
• Employers seeking to extend the H-1B worker’s stay must now submit proof that the worker has maintained their previous visa status. This requirement also applies to H-4 dependents.
• To ensure fairness and prevent fraud, USCIS will conduct more frequent audits and reviews of H-1B registrations during the month of March 2025. Employers must maintain accurate records and provide truthful information to avoid penalties.

The H-1B visa program is evolving under the Trump administration, bringing both positive reforms and stricter compliance measures. Undoubtedly, with the new H1B visa rules for fiscal 2026, the focus is shifting towards a fair and merit based selection process. Whether President Trump brings additional challenges or opens up new pathways, it remains to be seen. For now, the key is to stay informed, act promptly, and prepare thoroughly.

Subscribe to Travel Beats’ free newsletter for latest visa, immigration, travel, aviation and community news right in your email inbox. Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel, is a leading community portal for Indians in America.

The post New H1B Visa Rules Redefine Specialty Occupation, Assure Easy Renewals, Reduce Fraud appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Effective 10 February 2025, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services revised the US visa interview waiver (Dropbox) eligibility for Indians seeking to renew their non-immigrant visas such as H1B, H4, and F-1. The Dropbox program simplifies the visa renewal process by eliminating the need to attend in-person visa interviews at the US Embassy and Consulates for those eligible for it.

The Dropbox eligibility criteria for Indians have changed from 48 months to 12 months. Precisely, the window of visa expiration, which was broad earlier, has been reduced to 12 months. Starting 10 FEB 2025, you will be eligible for a visa renewal interview waver if your visa is valid or expired within the past 12 months. This update equally applies to individual visa holders and their dependent family members.

This image is AI-generated

“My H1B visa expired before 12 months from now. I have a Dropbox appointment scheduled in March. But the new update renders me ineligible for in-person view interview waiver. Should I cancel the Dropbox appointment and book a new interview appointment?”

Hundreds of similar queries are pouring in on social media and forums. A close look at the updated eligibility criteria for US visa renewal interview waiver or Dropbox will help get your queries addressed:

• You’re a citizen or lawful resident of India.
• You have a previous US visa in the same class as the visa for which you wish to apply
• Your visa in the same class is still valid or expired within the last 12 months
• Your most recent visa was not lost, stolen, cancelled, revoked, or marked CWOP
• You have no refusals for a visa in any class after the most recent visa issuance

Dropbox appointment eligibility criteria for children under 14 years

• Children should apply before their 14^th birthday
• In B1/B2 visa class, children must submit photocopies of both parents’ passport biographic information and the valid US visa page
• In any other visa class, children must submit photocopies of either parent’s passport biographic information and the valid US visa page.

Dropbox appointment eligibility criteria for those aged 80 years or older

• They should apply on or after 80^th birthday
• Their most recent visa application was not refused.

Reduced Dropbox eligibility window and its impact on Indians

It has hit hard many visa holders, particularly those who have already traveled to India for pre-scheduled Dropbox appointments, as per the interview waiver eligibility criteria valid before this February 10. With the revised criteria having taken effect, their Dropbox appointments stand automatically cancelled, requiring them to book fresh appointments for in-person consular interviews at the US Embassy or Consulates. Restricted travel to the United States, the country of residence and employment for them, is a real ordeal unless their visas are renewed.

The interview waiver rule change for visa renewals has disrupted many Indians’ pre-planned travel to India for Dropbox appointments in February 2025. It has left them at a loss over forced cancellation of flight tickets to India. Those who booked non-refundable flights without travel insurance may incur a hefty loss against trip cancelation closer to their scheduled departure dates.

The revision of the Dropbox eligibility window back to the pre-pandemic 12 month mandate is likely to cause travel disruption for US tourist visa holders in India. Those who were eligible for B2 visa interview waivers before 10 February 2025 will face longer in-person interview wait times, which is currently 450 days on average at the US Embassy and Consulates in India.

FAQs: How US Visa Interview Waiver Update Impacts Indians on H1B, H4, B1/B2, L1/L2, F1/F2 

My H1B visa stamp expired 11 months ago. It will be 12^th month once February ends. Am I eligible for a visa interview waiver next month? In March, I will be into the 13^th month of my H1B visa expiration?

You may not be eligible for a Dropbox appointment given the new change in the eligibility criteria. You will have to apply for an in-person interview appointment in India.

I recently changed my status from H1B to H4. In view of the new update on the Dropbox appointment criteria for Indians, do I have to schedule an in-person interview? Or, it falls in the same class?

You would have been eligible for an interview waiver for visa renewal in the same class as your previous one (H1B). Your current visa status (H4) requires you to apply for an in-person interview appointment.

The post USA Revises Dropbox or In-person Visa Interview Waiver Eligibility Criteria for Indians appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

“I worked at top companies on an H-1B visa. Soon, I realized that I could not spend my whole life on an H-1B visa. There are just too many restrictions, limited career growth, and too much risk of being thrown out at any time,” CEO Aditya Sharma shared in a recent LinkedIn post. He chose not to end up waiting endlessly for legal permanent residence and not to join more than one million Indians, including H1B visa holders, stuck in the Green Card backlog. He chose not to let the ‘H1B visa country cap’ for India affect his future in the US, particularly during the Trump administration 2.0.

PC: Linkedin.com/in/aditya-hicounselor

Among the ways to obtain a Green Card in the US, EB1A became a safe bet for Aditya Sharma, the founder and CEO of HiCounselor in San Francisco. In his LinkedIn post that broke out the news of his Green Card approval on 27 JAN 2025, he further shared the timeline, June 2024 – January 2025, that he created and followed from preparation to application to approval for an EB1A Green Card.

• Jun 2024: Started working to meet the EB1A eligibility criteria.
• Aug 2024: Met 5 out of 8 criteria.
• Oct 2024: Got LOR from high-profile individuals, 3 research papers published, and got media coverage.
• Nov 2024: Met 8 out of 8 criteria. Started the application prep.
• Jan 2025: 912 pages of application. It was truly a crazy activity to review and finalize this big application.
• Jan 12, 2025: Application sent to USCIS in premium processing.
• Jan 16, 2025: Application received by USCIS.
• Jan 27, 2025: Approved!

It seems that he was fortunate enough to secure a Green Card in only 8 months. In fact, his journey to obtaining lawful permanent residence that helps actualize the American Dream began years ago when he realized, “HIB is a horrible visa to spend your life in the US.” Like hundreds of thousands of Indian students in USA, Aditya got his first job at Deloitte on an H1B visa after having earned a master’s degree from Duke University, North Carolina, in 2015.

Success stories of the Silicon Valley startups fired his zeal to become an entrepreneur. But soon he found that H1B visa holders cannot do a full-time business in USA. It did not hold him back from exploring possible ways of launching a startup business on H1B visa. He started attending entrepreneurship meetups in the Bay Area. At one such event, he learned about the O1 visa and that “it allows immigrants to start a company in the US.”

What is O1 visa? Who qualifies for O1 visa in USA?

The O1 visa is one of the US employment visas for non-immigrant foreign nationals. Highly qualified individuals of extraordinary ability in sciences, business, education, arts and sports can apply for the O1 visa. Indians who are national or international achievers in the aforementioned fields may qualify for the O1 visa. Unlike H1B visa, the O1 visa has a broad application window. You can apply for it at any time of the year. Statistically, 80-95% is the approval rate for O1 visa applicants including potential entrepreneurs and startup founders.

Is it difficult to get an O1 visa? HiCounselor CEO Aditya Sharma recalls, “When I looked at the criteria, I was shocked and dejected. They seemed so demanding that I didn’t think I could meet them. Slowly, I started working on them, and after a year, I applied for the O1 Visa. And guess what, I was approved within five days of my application.” In this visa category, the applicant is required to submit a significant amount of evidence that undergoes rigorous scrutiny by USCIS, ascertaining his/her extraordinary ability or achievement.

With the O1 visa approval, he resigned from his job at Deloitte and launched HiCounselor in 2020. However, he did not stop there. After a year into business, he started educating himself on the EB-1 visa eligibility criteria and application procedure. “I wish I had done this hard work sooner,” he shared on LinkedIn as it took him 4 years to understand and fulfil the EB-1A visa requirements. EB-1 is an employment-based, first preference visa in the immigrant category.

Who is eligible for EB-1A immigrant visa?

Individuals with extraordinary abilities and outstanding achievements can be eligible for the EB-1A visa. Having some national or international acclaim, you don’t need a US-based employment offer or labor certification to apply for an EB-1A visa. Among the paths to lawful permanent residency in America, this immigrant visa gives quicker access to a Green Card. But it is a highly competitive visa entailing a complicated application process and requiring strong evidence of your achievements or recognition in arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics.

Aditya Sharma’s EB1-A application was 912-page long, and he described it as an “incredibly daunting task”. This is one of the roadblocks for most immigrants, even those in high-paying roles, not to apply for a Green Card in the EB-1 category, according to him. He hosts sessions on O1 and EB1 visas aiming to help qualified H1B visa holders navigate the otherwise tough application procedure. In his LinkedIn post, he claimed to have helped 75 people get EB-1 and O-1 visas.

Travel Beats is a leading community portal for Indian Diaspora stories, US visa, Green Card & immigration updates, and US-India travel news by Indian Eagle, the most trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians in America. Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up-to-date.

The post How I Secured My Green Card Faster through EB-1A Visa, HiCounselor CEO Aditya Sharma Shares His Story appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

One of the announcements that Prime Minister Modi had made in favor of US work visa holders from India during his first state visit to Washington DC in June 2023 is finally becoming a reality after a successful pilot trial through 2024. It is the stamping of certain non-immigrant US visas, including H1B, for renewal in the United States. The presidential approval from the White House had set in the pilot program for domestic H1B visa renewals in USA, a majority of which is for Indian nationals.

The pilot program for domestic H1B visa renewal was started at the Canadian and Indian Consulates in the US in January 2024. At the same time, the US Department of State had announced a move to issue paperless US visas for certain countries in 2025.

It is worth noting that H4 visa holders, the dependents of H1B visa professionals in USA, were not eligible for the domestic US visa renewal pilot program. It is highly anticipated that the success of the pilot trial would eliminate international travel for spouses and children of H1B workers by enabling them to renew their H4 status within the US, now onwards.

Eligibility Criteria for H1B Visa Renewal in USA?

You must have valid H1B status, an unexpired petition for renewal, and fingerprints on file with the Department of State among the eligibility criteria for H1B visa renewal in the US. At the same time, you must be qualified for an in-person interview waiver. You don’t need any American residence proof to get your H1B visa renewed in USA without traveling to India. The application fee $205 may be the same as for the pilot program. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. 6 to 8 weeks is the approximate processing time for your employment visa renewal in the USA.

PC: Freepik.com

America’s New Year Gift to H1B Visa Holders

“Indians are the largest skilled group of workers in the United States. We hope that India will benefit quite a bit from this program and it will prevent Indians from having to travel back to India or anywhere for a visa appointment to get their visas renewed. It will allow our missions in India to concentrate on new applicants,” said Julie Stufft, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services.

H1B visa renewal stamping in India continues to have been a nightmare for lakhs of Indians since the onset of the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of H1B visa holders got stuck in India due to the pandemic-induced closure of US Embassy and consulates. Currently, the nightmare drags on over the US visa renewal appointment delays in India. This affects Indian families and causes their separation. Over 800 days is the visa interview wait time at the US Embassy and Consulates in India. Many Indians on H1B visa lost their US jobs as they could not travel back without visa stamping during the pandemic.

Another movement is gaining momentum for H1B visa holders

Resumption of domestic stamping for H1B visa renewals in USA has more to it. The Presidential commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders would like USCIS to update its visa stamping policy, which was done many years ago but it was not honored. It is also recommended that H1B visa holders should be provided with advanced travel documents so that they don’t get stuck back home and can re-enter the US on an expired visa.

If H1B visa holders are given advanced travel documents, they may be able to travel to India via Europe without a transit visa. As of today, if your US visa has expired, you need a transit visa to travel to India from USA via Europe. Traveling through the Middle East on an expired US visa does not have any transit visa requirement. Given advanced travel documents, you will be able to choose a round-trip flight between USA and India over two one-way flights. Usually, round-trip flights to India cost lesser than two one-way flights booked separately. Without worrying about visa stamping in India and needing a transit visa for Europe, you will be able to visit your parents and attend to their medical needs back home.

Domestic US Visa renewal promises to ease travel for Indians

The presidential approval to resumption of H1B visa renewal service in America promises a host of benefits, including enhanced ease of travel between USA and India. This is a most pressing need of the hour in view of the understaffed US Embassy and Consulates, India struggling to clear the visa backlogs that have built up over the past two years of the pandemic. It is draining financially and mentally those who traveled to India for unprecedented reasons such as family emergency, and in the hope of getting their visa renewal applications processed during a definite period of stay. They end up paying a fare difference for rescheduling their flights more than once, which costs them additional hundreds of dollars each time, due to the US visa processing delays in India.

“This is when an open ticket comes in handy. Keeping your flight tickets in open status is cheaper and better than rescheduling your reservation and paying a fare difference twice or thrice. Once your return travel date is confirmed, you can use the open ticket by paying a fare difference (if any) and certain fees (as per the airline policy) within 6 to 12 months from the date of original booking. We recommend open-ended air tickets to our customers without certain return travel dates,” said the chief ticketing officer of IndianEagle.com, a leading travel-booking partner of Indians in America.

Also Check: Save more than $1000 on traveling to India from USA this Holiday season

The post Finally in 2025, Indians to Get H1B Visa Renewal Service in USA after Successful Pilot Trial: Eligibility Norms & Fees appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

If you are on H1B visa, you must be wondering, sometimes, how to extend your H1B status after the maximum period of 6 years or whether you can extend your stay in the US after 6 years of valid H1B status. Yes, you can do that without accruing visa overstay or incurring a penalty. The H1B visa recapture rule is one of the few secrets that you should have knowledge of.

Generally, an H1B visa holder is entitled to not more than 6 years of stay in the United States. Initially, the much coveted H1B visa is issued to non-immigrants for 3 years, which is extendable only for another 3 years. the expiration of your H1B status on completion of six years requires you leave the US and bars you from re-entry into the country for at least one year.

Picture Credit: APNLive.com

However, the H1B visa recapture rule can help you bypass this restriction. Most probably, you don’t know that the period of your stay on H1B visa includes only the days you spend physically in the US, not your holidays outside of the US during this time. Precisely, any trip exceeding 24 hours outside of the US border, irrespective of the purpose, is excluded from the period of 6 years in the US while you have valid visa status, according to the H1B visa rules.

The time spent in any part of the world other than the USA during the valid H1B period is called ‘recapturing’ time. The time you don’t spend in the US during this period is called the ‘unused’ time. You can reclaim this time to extend your visa status beyond the usually permissible length of stay in the US. Whenever you travel to India for a few days, a few weeks, or a month or two while holding a valid H1B visa, the clock stops for the time spent in India and this does not count towards the H1B period of 6 years.

Interestingly, the H1B visa recapture rule does not need you to state or explain your purpose of traveling and spending some time outside of the US. Any time (more than 24 hours at a stretch) spent outside of the US, whether for a family vacation or a business trip, can be recaptured and added back to your valid period of stay in the US through a petition. Now you must be keen to know how.

Now you must be keen to know how to file an H1B extension petition to recapture the ‘unused’ time. Though the onus of providing documentary proof for the time spent abroad falls on you, it is your employer who is required to file an H1B visa recapture petition to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The documents you should provide to help your employer prove that you have physically spent a period of time outside of the US are:

• Copies of your international flight tickets and boarding passes
• Copies of the passport page with stamps given at the airport(s) outside of the US
• Copies of your I-94 card with arrival and departure records

“It is obvious that you should not lose your boarding passes for international flights to India or other destination. You should keep the boarding passes and flight tickets to India safe as these are part of the documentary evidence for your time spent in India or some other place outside of the US border,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading Indian Diaspora portal by Indian Eagle Travel.

Will I receive a Request for Evidence from USCIS if my H1B extension petition fails to recapture ‘unused’ time or the documents provided are inadequate for my claim to have spent days outside of USA?

No. USCIS does not send a request for evidence to H1B visa holders whose petitions to recapture the visa time spent abroad are not approved due to inadequate documents.

Will I be charged of H1B visa overstay if I stay in the USA for the recaptured days added back to my H1B period of time?

No. There is no such risk as visa overstay in this case. The H1B visa recapture rule authorizes you to extend your visa status for the days you spend outside of the US during the 6-year visa term. It is absolutely legitimate.

What about my dependents on H4 visa if my stay on H1B is extended through a petition for H1B visa recapture unused time?

Your dependents on H4 visa, spouse and children, are also eligible for the extension by the same period of time that you get added to your visa status.

Subscribe to Travel Beats, a leading community portal for Indians in America, for everything related to your US-India travel, from transit visa to travel hacks, baggage allowance, and connecting airport stopover guides. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, the most trusted air-ticketing partner of NRIs and OCI cardholders looking for the best flight deals to India and USA.

The post What is H1B Visa Recapture Rule? Know How It can Extend Your H1B Status beyond Maximum Period of 6 Years appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

After a significant US visa fee hike came into effect for foreign workers and investors starting this April, the Biden government is looking to tax American employers for work visa extensions to their employees from India and other countries. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has brought a new proposal to levy the 9/11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee also on L-1 and H1B visa extensions through employers in the US.

Incepted in December 2015, the 9/11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee is collected for initial H1B and L1 visa petitions by “certain employers” hiring qualified foreign workers. This fee helps pump up the fund for America’s national security programs. It also funds the existing systems that monitor non-immigrants’ entry to and exit from the United States. Currently, certain employers pay $4000 to $4500 for visa petitions if over 50% of their employee strength is on H1B and/or L-1.

The new DHS rule seeks to substitute “all petitioners” for the existing phrase “certain petitioners”, so that all US employers including those petitioning for L-1 and H1B visa renewal pay the 9/11 Response and Biometric Fee. The proposal seeks to mandate the same amount of fees for renewing the visa of L-1 and H1B employees for an extended period of stay and employment in the US.

The DHS proposal, if supported and implemented, would incur higher expenses to the US businesses relying on foreign professionals with H1B or L-1 visas. It would, no doubt, double the financial burden for the US employers having a significant number of H1B and/or L-1 employees from India and other countries, prompting a re-evaluation of their hiring practices and their decision to extend the tenure of employment for foreign employees.

DHS justified its proposal to extend the 9/11 Response and Biometric Fee to L-1 and H1B visa renewals, reasoning that the current fund is short of the biometric entry-exit system’s uninterrupted operation. The additional fund is required to upgrade the national security programs, improve the monitoring of visa fraud, enhance the immigration procedure, and set up a biometric entry-exit data system.

The post DHS Proposes to Levy 9/11 Response and Biometric Fee on US Employers for L1, H1B Visa Extensions appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Reforming the ‘long-broken’ US immigration system has been one of the foremost agendas of the Biden-Harris administration. The President vowed to establish a ‘fair and orderly’ immigration law that not only welcomes legal immigrants, but also keeps their families together and allows them to contribute more to the country in the long run.

PC: Image by Freepik

On 4 February, the US Senate introduced the bipartisan National Security Agreement with reform measures aligned to President Joe Biden’s vision for a fair immigration law in America. The bill not only addresses border security concerns caused by illegal immigration, but also seeks to expedite work permits to eligible H4 visa holders, introduce ageing-out protection for children of H1B visa professionals, and increase the cap on the number of Green Cards issued annually. The bill finds strong support at the White House as the Biden-Harris administration urges the Congress to pass the bill immediately.

The National Security Agreement, if passed into law, will benefit one lakh skilled H4 dependents – spouses and children of certain long-term H1-B visa holders – looking for employment in the US. At present, H4 visa holders are required to obtain a work permit, Employment Authorization Document (EAD), to work in the US. This process takes 6-12 months or longer, because of which many miss out on the employment opportunity.

To address this, the bipartisan bill proposed automatic work permits to 100,000 H4 dependents of H1B visa holders who have completed their immigration visa petitions. This would eliminate the need to apply and wait for EAD approval to seek employment in the US, thus allowing skilled dependents ‘to contribute more fully to the country’. It, in turn, is a relief to over 250,000 H-4 dependent children as they will have a legal right to stay and work in the US temporarily even if they age out during the immigration process. However, the benefit applies to those who accompanied their parents as children and stayed in the US for at least 8 years before they turned 21 years old.

The Senate bill also propounds significant measures to clear the massive Green Card backlog, which has become a challenge for both applicants and USCIS officials alike. It seeks to increase the number of Green Cards (Permanent Resident Card) issued every year, thus effectively getting to the root of the backlog.

An increase of the annual limit of 1,40,000 employment-based green cards to 1,58,000 for the next five years would benefit a total of 90,000 employment-based green card seekers. Of the proposed 250,000 additional green cards over the next five years; 1,60,000 family-based green cards would facilitate lawful pathways to citizenship and ‘keep families together’. To further support family reunions, the bill includes a provision for certain noncitizens’ travel to the US on a temporary visitor visa (B visa) to meet their family members.

Additionally, 25,000 K-1, K-2, and K-3 visa holders (foreign-citizen fiancé of a US citizen, children of foreign-citizen fiancé, and foreign-citizen spouse of a US citizen respectively) are among the eligible beneficiaries of the automatic work authorization.

The post What’s National Security Agreement that Seeks Automatic Work Authorization for Dependents of H1B Visa Holders appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The United States is set on modernizing the H1-B visa program with a slew of new reforms, including digital upgrades to the e-registration system. Ahead of the opening of the online filing period for H-1B registrations for fiscal 2025, the USCIS announced new measures to streamline the H1B visa application process, with effect from February 2024.

Image by Freepik

As part of the new changes, the H-1B e-registration platform will feature new ‘organizational accounts’ in addition to the two types of online USCIS accounts – registrant account and representative/attorney account – for submitting H-1B registrations. The new feature will facilitate collaboration between multiple individuals working for the same organization (a company or business entity) and their legal representatives in preparing and submitting H1B registrations for prospective beneficiaries. A registrant account can be upgraded to form a company group, and all authorized members may join the organization’s group upon receiving invitation.

The coordination between the group of people authorized by the employer and their attorneys/accredited representatives will help prevent duplicate submissions for the same beneficiary. Thus, the ‘organizational accounts’ feature, besides simplifying the registration process for employers, addresses concerns regarding overrepresentation in H-1B visa registrations. For years, the H1-B lottery system has been plagued by multiple registrations for a single beneficiary to amplify their chance of selection.

As per the changes in the H1B visa application process, the USCIS is going to start online filing of H1B visas (USCIS lockbox) and allow petitioners or their legal representatives to file H1-B petitions online and also submit requests for premium processing through the online portal. At present, both Form I-129 (Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker) and Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service) are typically filed at a USCIS service centre. With this transition from offline filing to online filing, the H1-B petition process becomes paperless, right from registration to processing to selection.

Online filing of H-1B petitions will be introduced as an alternate option to paper-based filing. Thus, employers may choose to file H-1B petitions themselves through organizational accounts or have it filed online by a legal representative on their behalf or go for the traditional method of filing Forms I-129 and I-907 at the direct filing address. However, the H1-B registration is an online-only process.

This announcement regarding online H-1B petition filing came a few weeks after USCIS hiked the premium processing fee for H1-B and other visas. The new fee structure to be effective from February 26 will cost sponsoring employers $2,805, a 12% hike on the previous $2500, to avail premium processing service for an H1-B petition (Form I-129). Additionally, USCIS proposed a massive visa fee hike for various categories, including H1-B. It proposed to increase the H-1B registration fee to $215 from current $10 and the Form I-129 fee to $780 from present $460.

The post Organizational Accounts to Online Filing: USA Rules in New Measures to Ease H-1B Visa Application Process appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

It will cost US visa seekers dearly to fulfil their American Dreams in the near future, as USCIS’ proposed visa fee hikes are likely to be effective in early 2024 for H1B, L, O, and EB5 categories. The visa fee hike proposal will also impact applicants seeking employment authorization, US citizenship, and green card status adjustment. Only the USCIS fees for premium processing of visas in all categories will remain unaffected; however, the premium processing timeline will increase from 15 calendar days to 15 business days as proposed by USCIS.

EB5 – the Golden Visa that ensures the fastest route to earning a Green Card – will cost foreign investors and entrepreneurs 204 times more than its current fees. Once USCIS’ visa fee hike proposal is approved, an EB5 visa will cost $11,160 instead of $3,675. This will surely be another setback to EB5 visa seekers, since the investment cap has been raised from $500,000 to a minimum $800,000.

The proposed H1B visa fee hike is, undoubtedly, not a fair surprise to H1B visa sponsors. The US employers hiring high-skilled foreign workers will have to shell out $780, a 70% hike on $460 per application. Moreover, the H1B pre-registration fee is to get a steep hike by 2050% – from a meagre $10 to a whopping $215. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency reasons that they sought a significant hike in the H1B pre-registration fee based on a review of the increasing cost of managing the H1B registration system.

In its US visa fee hike proposal, USCIS sought a 201% increase from $460 to $1385 for an L1 visa, a non-immigrant visa for intra-company transfer. The O1 visa fee is likely to go up by 129%. O1, a visa for non-immigrant individuals with extraordinary ability or achievements, is one of the few options that highly-accomplished STEM professionals on H1B can switch to during the 60-day grace period following a layoff. They may find this option a deterrent in the event of the O1 visa fee increase.

Justifying the H1B, EB5, L1 and other visa fee hikes, USCIS said that the revision of the current visa fee schedule is a pressing need of the hour to meet the agency’s operating overheads, especially in view of the pandemic-hit revenue. The agency’s revenue plummeted by 40% during the pandemic – which resulted in freezing the hiring process and reducing the workforce, thereby affecting the capacity to clear backlogs. USCIS’ annual revenue is expected to rise from $3.28 billion to $5.2 billion if the latest revision of the visa fees is approved. The estimated revenue increase will help USCIS prevent the mounting of visa backlogs, upgrade the technological infrastructure, and augment the legal immigration system.

USCIS also proposed eliminating separate biometric services fee. At the same time, USCIS assured that the visa hike proposal would not impact the existing fee waiver eligibility norms for low-income groups. The agency also sought to introduce fee exemptions for visa applicants in the ‘humanitarian programs’ category.

The US visa hike proposal includes plans to introduce a new ‘Asylum Program Fee’ which will be levied on the employers filing Form I-129 (a petition for non-immigrant workers) and Form I-140 (a petition for employment-based LPR) for their foreign employees. The Asylum Program Fee, $600, will help the agency afford the expenses of administering the asylum programs.

The post All You Need to Know about USCIS’ Visa Fee Hike Proposal for H1B, L1, EB5 and Other Visa Categories appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The United States’ H-1B program, a passage to the land of American Dream for foreign professionals, has been awaiting reforms since the Biden-Harris administration was formed. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now inching towards working on the reforms. Being the biggest beneficiary of this employment-based visa, Indians, more than anyone else, might greatly be impacted by an overhaul of the H-1B visa system if it takes effect.

The USCIS proposed a new rule to modernize the H-1B visa system, amending some of its regulations concerning H-1B specialty occupations and its current beneficiaries as well as international students on F1 visa awaiting change of status to H-1B for employment. USCIS’ proposal primarily seeks to revise ‘employer-employee relationship’ for H-1B program, provide greater flexibility for startup entrepreneurs, update site visit guidelines (site visits refer to immigration officers’ unannounced arrival at workplace to cross-verify the employment of foreign employees and prevent immigration fraud), address cap-gap issues for F1 students, and foolproof H-1B cap e-registration system.

Employer-employee Relationship for H1B Petition Approval

At present, the ‘employer-employee relationship’ is determined by the sponsor’s ability ‘to hire, pay, fire, supervise, or otherwise control the work of the employee’. Establishing a valid employee-employer relationship by submitting necessary proofs is crucial for approval of the H-1B petition. Redefining what constitutes an employer-employee relationship can possibly shift the ground for approval/denial of the H-1B petitions. Also, regulations related to establishing this relationship when a supervisor places his/her H-1B employee at a third party establishment were changed recently, and require both parties to file H-1B petitions in such cases.

Cap-Gap Extension for F1 Students in USA 

Other than the 65,000 H-1B visas issued by the US annually, an additional 20,000 visas are allotted for students graduating from American universities. Indian students on F1 visas who sign up for a standard 12-month optional practical training (OPT) post completion of their advanced degree are among the beneficiaries of this F1 status upgrade. This temporary employment usually opens the door for H-1B sponsorship, with the organizations who wish to employ their OPT candidates by sponsoring them for H-1B visas.

The period between the expiry of their F1 status/OPT employment authorization and the start of H-1B status is referred to as the ‘cap gap’. When the employers file H-1B petitions for these candidates during the H-1B filing season (which typically starts in April) for the following fiscal year, these F1 students or OPT candidates with pending/approved H-1B petition qualify for cap-gap extension, which is extension of F1 status/employment authorization until the start of fiscal year (Oct 1). However, if the petition isn’t processed, then such candidates are disentitled to work in the new fiscal year. This delay in processing H-1B requests continues to affect eligible students and the new rule is likely to resolve this issue, which would benefit over 2,00,000 Indian students looking forward to settling in USA after their education.

H-1B e-Registration System & Lottery Selection

Online registrations for H-1B visas are exponentially higher than what the US approves in accordance with the annual cap set on H-1B visas (65,000). To select applicants for further processing from this pool of registrations, the USCIS randomly picks them on a lottery basis. This aggressive competition for the most sought-after work visa seemed to have made way for visa fraud as employers resorted to submitting multiple online registrations for one beneficiary to maximize his/her chances of selection in the H-1B lottery. USCIS, having suspected gaming of the system, is planning to overhaul the procedure to remove these loopholes and prevent misuse of the H1B visa system.

USCIS’ proposed rule for H-1B reform is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President. Its implementation is still a long way ahead, several months to be specific. Reportedly, it will be published in the Federal Register in December 2023 and public opinions will be collected in the following 30-60 day public comment period. If finalized, the new rule will come into force just in time for the upcoming H-1B cap filing season in April 2024. Interestingly, some aspects of the USCIS’ new rule to reform the H-1B program were a part of the Biden administration’s first bi-annual agenda announced in June 2021.

The post Part of Biden’s Agenda, Proposed Rules will Increase H1B Visa Safeguards and Address F1 Visa Cap-gap Issue appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.