US issues higher number of H-1B visas this financial year

It has become more clear that the U.S has improved its approach in welcoming professionals since Joe Biden assumed the presidential office.

According to the latest reports, the U.S administration has accepted more H-1B professionals to the country this year compared to the Trump era administration.

The H-1B visa approval rate has gone up to 98.1% in the quarter ended in June. The first three quarters of this year have shown 97% approval rate.This was 84% in 2018 and 2019 during Donald Trump’s presidentship.

The Trump administration’s reluctance to accept professionals to the country had drawn criticism during those days.

However, immediately after taking charge of the office, Biden administration had tended to overhaul many of the controversial Trump era policies.

In April, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had restored a 2004 policy guidance regarding the extension of work visas such as H-1B, after revoking a Trump era guidance, which treated visa extension request as a new application.

According to the restored rule, the officials need to generally defer to prior determinations of eligibility when the same parties and facts are involved as in the initial petition.

However, the officers may not defer to a prior approval when there is a material error, material change, or new material facts that adversely impacts the petitioner’s, applicant’s, or beneficiary’s eligibility.

The revoked Trump policy which treated extension request as new application had increased administrative burden and costs for sponsoring employers.

In May, Biden administration removed a proposed rule which aimed to narrow the definition of specialty occupation, which would restrict who would be eligible to apply for an H-1B work permit. The rule, introduced by the previous Donald Trump administration had not been implemented as it was vacated by a US court in December last year.

In June 2020, the USCIS revoked two policy memos regarding the adjudication of certain H-1B visa positions following a settlement with the US-based IT industry body, ITServe Alliance.