No hike in H-1B visas this year

Legislation Expected Only Next Year, Say American Experts

Professionals awaiting an increase in the quota of H-1B visas to go the US will probably have a wait for another year, say American immigration experts.

There is a proposal pending in the US congress to increase the annual cap for H-1B visas from the present 65,000 per year issued by the US consulates the world over. "With elections (Nov. 7) on the anvil in the US, there seems to be a fairly low chance of this legislation being brought in this year. It could be expected only next year or so. In the run up to the polls, illegal immigration is a major issue," US-based immigration attorney Thomas Joy at the session 'How to avoid Costly Mistakes and Receive More Approvals' for Indian corporates on work visas and green cards here on Saturday.

Indians get 40 percent of H-1B visas and for this reason there is a strong industry lobby to have such a legislation to be passed, Joy added.

This year quota opened on April 1 and ran out by May 26. H-1B visas would be issued only in October 2007. But there seems to be some hope for those who need a visa. Some of the alternatives suggested at the session were consideration of an L-1, J-1, H-2B, H-3, B-1 or O-1 visa if feasible by the respective company.

"Small to medium-sized companies feel that they cannot apply for L-1 visas, which is untrue. The advantage here is that it does not have any specific cap. The only criteria being that the company must have an office in the US" said Venkat Ramineni, founder, VisaPro Immigration Services, who organised the session for human resource (HR) professionals of corporates in the city. In case the company does not have an office in the US, then the professionals should opt for a B-1 visa valid for a year, suggested Ramineni. A B-1 visa could be used in an Indian is required in the US for any work that can be categorised as a business activity like project discussion and analysis.

Another issue of concern is the regulation which does not allow the spouses of H-1 visa holders to work. A proposal to change this rule is also pending with the US government and is likely to change only next year, said Joy.

This session was attended by around 35 HR professionals of various corporates mainly from IT. The queries ranged from procedural formalities of visas, green cards, change from one visa status to another to strategies on how to prevent rejections at visa interviews.

The American attorney gave a presentation on the "misconceptions" bout visa processing and also conducted a mock visa interview to discuss the dos and dont's.