Fast processing of some H-1B visas allowed by US
US companies often use the visas to hire graduate-level workers in several specialised fields.
The
US
government
said
that
it
would
resume
fast
processing
of
H-1B
visas
requested
by
institutions
of
higher
education
and
non-profit
and
governmental
research
organizations.
US
President
Donald
Trump
had
signed
an
executive
order
in
April
in
which
he
called
for
a
review
of
the
H-1B
programme.
The
visa
allows
foreigners
with
certain
skills
to
work
on
a
temporary
basis
in
the
US.
On April 3, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended "premium processing" of the visas for up to six months. Under the expedited procedure, applicants can be eligible for visa approvals within 15 days, instead of a regular review period that can last several months.
The overall suspension remains in place but USCIS said on Monday in a statement that premium processing would resume for some applications from educational and research-oriented organizations exempt from the cap.
USCIS has said that suspending premium processing was necessary to reduce a backlog of long-pending visa petitions and thus reduce overall H-1B processing times.
US companies often use the visas to hire graduate-level workers in several specialised fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics. The visas are heavily used in the tech sector.
OneIndia News