US Federal Court Verdict Brings Happiness To Computer Programmers

A verdict of a US Federal court of appeals, also known as Ninth Circuit brings immense relief to Indian computer programmers. The court ruled that IT companies in the US could sponsor computer progammers for H-1B ‘specialty’ visas, a ruling that rejects the decision of the US citizenship and immigration services, which retained that computer programmers have no right to claim H-1B ‘specialty’ occupation visas.

The court pronounced the verdict in a case which came up when Innova Solutions sought permission for hiring an Indian citizen to work as a computer programmer.The USCIS had challenged Innova Solution’s arguments saying an American employer interested in sponsoring the H-1B programme for outsiders has to confirm that the job requires “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.”

According to Times of India, Cyrus D Mehta, New York-based founder of an immigration law firm said “The decision is a refreshing rebuttal to USCIS’s longstanding practice of challenging computer programming on specialty occupation grounds. It reminds the USCIS that it can’t rely on the bureaucratic description… (for denials).”

According to the report, the H1-B visa was hence denied as Innova Solutions had failed to justify its issuing by proving that the computer programmer holds a ‘specialty’ post. USCIS abided by the Department of Labour’s occupational outlook handbook, wherein it is stated that ‘most’ computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree. The handbook also describes that degree to be rudimentary and the ‘typical level of education that most workers require,’ thereby dismissing the importance of computer programmers as claimed by IT companies.