The H-1B visa programme is undergoing significant changes from Thursday, March 20, with Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) deleting old applications and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implementing a new system for the process.
The H-1B visa system is a major route for foreign skilled workers looking to find work in the country. The new system is said to be implemented by the Donald Trump administration to make the process more transparent and effective.
Any record older than five years will be deleted from the system. So, if the final determination date of a case is March 22, 2020, the application will be deleted on March 22 this year. The employers have been asked to download any case older than five years by March 19.
What does the deletion of old H-1B applications mean for workers?
According to a report by the Financial Times, all temporary labour condition applications, including H-1B, will be deleted beginning on March 20 and eliminated from the FLAG system. Instead, the USCIS will launch a new application process that is touted to be more fair and equal for all applicants.
In the previous system, multiple employers could submit applications for a single individual. In the new system for H-1B visas, however, this will be replaced by a fairer method that gives all applicants an equal chance regardless of how many employers file for them.
The revised system will select beneficiaries rather than applications, preventing duplicate entries for the same person. This eliminates the advantage that large corporations had in the previous system, which allowed them to submit multiple applications for the same individual. The registration fee will also shoot up significantly, from $10 to $215 per entry.
Another change is that the USCIS will require candidates to register online. Employers must register before filing the complete H-1B petition, which will help the USCIS expedite the process.
The new system promises better selection fairness for employees and more efficient application processing. It will also increase the expenses for the employers, who will now have to choose who they sponsor a little more carefully
