US Reaches Its H-1B Visa Cap for 2023

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US Reaches Its H-1B Visa Cap for 2023
The United States government has reached its
congressionally mandated H-1B visa cap for the
fiscal year 2023 meaning employers will have to
wait until April 1, 2024, to start filing
applications. The US Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) announced that it had received
enough petitions to reach the congressionally
mandated 65,000 visa cap necessitating the
computer-generated lottery that would determine
which petitions would be accepted first. There
are enough applications to fill the US Under its
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Congress
mandated that a total of 65,000 visas be
allocated each fiscal year to foreign workers
with at least a bachelors degree in areas that
are considered to be qualified occupations. In
addition to these 65,000 visas granted on an
annual basis to immigrants applying outside of
their home country there are also another
85,000 slots allotted as Visas obtained by those
who have applied inside their home country while
still living abroad though not subject to a
congressionally set cap. The H-1B visa is a type
of non-immigrant visa US demand for foreign
workers with specialized skills, such as in
technology and engineering has increased in
recent years. To ensure qualified employees from
abroad will be able to work at American companies
Congress instituted a limit on the number of H-1B
visas granted annually. This years quota has
already been reached due to the economys growth
and geopolitical concerns over talent leaving
their home countries. Approved applications can
sometimes take six months or more before they are
processed and issued to applicants, who must
file before April 1st each year if they wish to
start working at a US company that needs skilled
workers starting October 1st explained US
immigration visa consultant in Hyderabad.
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Technology companies in the United States are
reeling after Congress reached its mandated limit
on visas that allow them to hire a population of
talented and highly qualified employees from
countries like India and China. Roughly 10 of
American technology companies can no longer offer
employment to new graduates due to a restriction
on Americas visa allotment, according to USA
Today. Although it is possible to argue that
this is not an entirely bad thing given the
severity of Americas mass exodus from STEM
careers, many jobs cannot be filled by American
residents. Indeed, at least 600 companies
submitted requests for exemptions under specific
circumstances before this cap was reached but
have been unsuccessful so far. The latest data
show that more than a million people from India
have applied for H-1B visas since 2017 (if not
more). But it is now clear that it is highly
unlikely given this bottleneck in Americas
visa quota that even a fraction of these
aspirants will get their turn. The Right Number
Of Petitions Was Met The annual number of
applications exceeded 220,000 this year,
representing a 15 increase. This trend can be
attributed to a skills shortage in STEM fields
and more lucrative incentives. In response to
high demand, the US Congress has increased the
cap from 65,000 visas to 85000 to make room for
more skilled workers in America. The immigrant
population will continue to face challenges as it
competes with natives for jobs. But we hope that
by planning, these challenges can be mitigated
and eventually displaced altogether with
successful integration into American society said
a wishful US work visa consultant in
Hyderabad. The United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a
fortnight back that it has reached the
congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas
for the upcoming fiscal year starting October 1,
2023. Last week, USCIS also received more than
20,000 H-1B petitions from foreign nationals
seeking an exemption from the cap under the U.S.
advanced degree exemption (commonly known as the
masters cap). Because of this, USCIS will use a
computer-generated lottery system to select
enough petitions to meet the 65,000 caps further
said a US immigration consultancy in Hyderabad.