Foreigners aiming for temporary jobs at high-tech US
companies will undergo a longer visa approval process after the Trump
administration announced it will temporarily suspend expedited applications for
H-1B visas.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on
Friday that starting April 3 it will suspend “premium processing” for up to six
months. Under this expedited procedure, applicants can be eligible for visa
approvals within 15 days, instead of a regular review period that can last for
up to a few months. The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows US companies to employ
graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information
technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics.
USCIS said that during the suspension period, individuals
still can request expedited consideration, but must meet certain criteria, such
as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe
financial loss to a company or individual. The United States currently caps
H-1B visas at 65,000 a year, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who
have earned advanced college degrees in the United States.
The visa is valid for three years but can be extended for an
additional three years. The agency said that suspending premium processing will
allow it to reduce a backlog of long-pending visa petitions and thus reduce
overall H-1B processing times.
The move comes as the Trump administration also
has been implementing tougher deportation procedures against illegal immigrants
in the United States and has attempted to impose a visa ban on people from
seven primarily Muslim countries. That ban was put on hold by a federal court. President
Donald Trump campaigned last year on a promise to crack down on immigrants who
he said were taking jobs from US citizens.
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