In an important move, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced major changes to the H-1B visa registration procedure for fiscal year 2025. This update is important for Indian professionals hoping to work in the USA. The revised selection criteria aim to reduce fraud risks while ensuring equality for everyone. 

Here’s what you should know about the new selection criteria for H-1B visa and how they may affect your travel to the USA.

H-1B Visa India Additional Requirements 

Starting in FY 2025, applicants must present valid passport or travel document details. The requirement will help simplify the process and strengthen it as a whole. The rule specifies the permitted start dates for H-1B employment, allowing filings that begin after October 1 of the relevant fiscal year. This provides more flexibility and clarity for applicants.

USCIS now has formalized authority to deny or revoke petitions containing false attestations or invalid registrations, thereby ensuring the process’s integrity.

Fee Schedule and Electronic Filing

With these changes, a new Fee Schedule rule will be introduced after the initial registration period for FY 2025. Also, USCIS is improving the process by introducing organizational accounts and online filing for certain forms, a step toward a fully electronic system.

The registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap begins March 6, 2024, and ends March 22, 2024. On February 28, 2024, USCIS will set up organizational accounts to facilitate collaboration on H-1B registrations, petitions, and associated forms. The online filing of Forms I-129 and I-907 for non-cap H-1B applications will begin on the same date.

Also Read: US introduces renewable H-1B visas for Indian IT Professionals

While traditional paper filing is still an option, online filing will be available beginning April 1, 2024. This change to digital technologies shows USCIS’s commitment to making the H-1B application process more accessible and efficient.

These changes are particularly important for Indian professionals, who are making up a significant number of H-1B applicants. With the new rules, the desire to work in the USA becomes possible. It’s an exciting time for anyone wishing to expand their horizons.

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The USCIS’s new selection criteria for H-1B visas represent an important move toward equality and transparency. For Indians planning a career in the United States, these changes might prove to be the key to achieving all that they can on international grounds. Stay educated, prepare carefully, and grab the opportunity to make your American dream come true.

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The United States’ latest initiative to launch in-country renewable H-1B visas marks a significant milestone in permitting seamless movement of Indian IT professionals to client locations. This strategic approach not only improves their ability to understand client requirements, but it also develops deeper relationships and ensures the delivery of tuned solutions. 

This development, which works by encouraging direct participation, has the potential to improve client satisfaction, create repeat business, and, eventually, raise IT exports. As the US is India’s primary market for IT exports, this decision is expected to have a significant beneficial influence on its IT services export business.

Expanded In-Country Renewable H-1B Visas

The US Department of State recently revealed its plan to launch a pilot program for domestic renewals of select petition-based temporary work visas, including those for Indian nationals. Set to commence later this year, this initiative aims to facilitate the streamlined renewal process for H1B and L visa holders, with plans for further expansion in 2024. Eventually, the program will encompass additional eligible categories, amplifying its scope and impact.

The decision to allow in-country renewable H-1B visas is expected to yield several far-reaching benefits. Firstly, it enables the timely completion of projects while ensuring high-quality outcomes, surpassing client expectations in the process.

The highly sought-after H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that empowers US companies to hire foreign workers in specialized occupations necessitating theoretical or technical expertise. Renowned technology companies heavily rely on this visa category to recruit tens of thousands of skilled professionals annually from countries like India and China. Typically, H-1B visas are issued for a duration of three years.

If you have an H-1B visa and it gets renewed, you’ll need to get your passport stamped with the new dates. This is important if you want to travel outside the US and come back in. Right now, you can’t get your visa stamped while you’re in the US. You can only do that at a US consulate.

By implementing in-country renewable H-1B visas, the United States has opened doors to greater collaboration and efficiency, benefiting both Indian IT professionals and the clients they serve. This progressive approach strengthens partnerships, fuels export growth, and propels India’s IT services industry towards unparalleled success on a global scale.

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A steep hike in the visa application fee for employment-based visas, including H-1B and L visas, is on cards. This US visa fee hike proposal was put forth (in a 469-page document) by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a bid to replenish the immigration agency’s funds (that were hit during the pandemic period) and also manage the operating costs.  

If approved by the Biden administration, the application fee for H-1B visas for ‘high-skilled foreign workers’ would rise by 70% to $780 while the percentage of fee hike for an L1 visa for ‘intra-company transfer’ would be a whopping 201% (from $460 to $1,385). For US companies, the cost of sponsoring foreign employees is likely to get higher as the employers filing Form I-129 (for nonimmigrant workers) and I-140 (for employer-sponsored green cards) will have to bear an additional $600 (under the Asylum program fee).

Also Read: US L1 Visa Application Guide

However, it is unlikely that the US visa fee hike would be implemented immediately as the proposal comes with a 60-day comment period, post which the received public comments will be reviewed and a final decision will be announced.

The pre-registration fee for H-1B visas will also go up to $215 from the current $10. This move to increase visa fees is expected to impact Indians the most as Indian nationals account for nearly 75% of H-1B visa receivers. A large number of Indian professionals are working at US IT organizations while many more dream of flying to San Francisco and other tech hubs to land their dream jobs. 

An increase in the fee for EB-5 visas (Investor Visa Program) from $3,675 to $11,160 (a 204% hike) is also proposed. Moreover, applicants seeking to upgrade their temporary visas to permanent (green card) will have to shell out $1,225 if the revised visa fee takes effect.

USCIS, in a news release, explains that this US visa fee hike will allow revenue recovery from its major income source (which is the filing fee) besides supporting the timely processing of visa applications and thus, preventing the accumulation of cases in the future. It also stated that the current fee structure has remained unchanged since 2016 (USCIS reviews the visa fee structure every two years).

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