Main Points:

• USCIS is likely to stop swapping of American with H1B visa holding NRIs.
• H1B visa norms became tougher after September 11, 2017.
• Only qualified people would get visa.
• Indians faced maximum number of visa denials during last year.
• 14, 204 out of 10.7 lakh NRIs overstay their visas.

The heart of the director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), L Francis Cissna, beats for his countrymen. He would like to constitute a directive that could prevent H1B visa holding NRIs from replacing Americans on the job.

What he said, “I would really love it if Congress would pass a provision prohibiting American workers being replaced by H-1B workers. I could draft it myself, probably right now, you know?”

He strongly iterated similarly to the US President Donald Trumps’ by saying “Buy American, Hire American”. His remark ripped the Indian diaspora at the “Immigration Newsmaker” event in the Washington DC 15 August. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) held that event where this anti-immigrant stance surfaced the headlines. The CIS website has even published it on its official website.  

H1B visa holders overstaying in the US

The year 2017 witnessed 3.65 lakh visa applications. India’s skilled workforce covered 75.6% out of that total visa applications. By the end of that fiscal year, nearly 21,000 Indians needed renewal. But, they overstayed, even though their visa was expired.

This practice has been trending for years. That’s why India ranks 10 among the countries whose natives temporarily come to the US legally but, they continue to live there illegally.

US enforced stringent H1B visa rules:

This unlawful practice has compelled the in-power diplomats to take necessary steps for terminating this unethical practice.  That’s why the Trump administration has enforced some stringent immigration rules. Consequently, the skilled workforce has to go through the hot water to get that work visa.

Now, the USCIS officials have a right to accept and reject visa applications. They follow an explicit way of verifying overwhelming visa requests. They prove whether or not the supplied proofs of wages and their description are authentic. If it is so and also, matches the requisite job vacancy in the USA, the immigration officer signs the permission by sanctioning that visa.

Report of the American Immigration Lawyers Association:

The American immigration lawyers association filed a lawsuit. It had to knock at the door of the court amid swelling requests of the H1B visa. Now, the USCIS has made an official announcement that the visa seekers should have to meet the mandatory condition of producing a Request for Evidence (RFE). This evidence would probe into the wages and the suitability of the job profile of a particular visa applicant.

Spiking demand of RFEs and their rejections:

The number of RFEs is skyrocketing. To report about it, the American Immigration Lawyers Association has filed a petition in the court. It wanted to know the reason of why the demand of the RFEs is at the height; and also, most of those applications are meeting rejections.

A report of the National Foundation for American Policy throws light on these points:

• Why did the third to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 register astounding 41% rejections of the h1B visa?
• Why did Indian applicant receive maximum denials?

If you look at its statistical figure, the USCIS received 72.4% RFEs requests in the fourth quarter of the fiscal 2017. It’s noteworthy that the same kind of visa requests was 61.2% during same tenure. And if one considers the comparative analysis of the denial percentage of those visa applications, it’s 23.6% from India whereas just 19.6% from other countries.