USCIS ANNOUNCES KEY H-1B CAP PROCESS CHANGES

Many of you are getting ready to file H-1B cases. USCIS has sent a new rule for publication which will makes several important announcements:

• Employers are barred from filing duplicate H-1B applications for the same employee (even if the petitions are for different positions). There is an exception for related companies that file more than one petition for the same employee. All petitions by an employer for an employee will be barred if there are duplicate filings.   
• Applications received on any of the first five business days beginning April 1st will be included in any lottery of H-1B petitions (this past year it was only for day one and two).
• Petitioners claiming to be exempt from the cap who are later found to be subject to the cap will not get a refund of their fees.
• If an application is received before April 1st, it will be rejected and a petition is deemed received when USCIS gets the application and stamps it received as opposed to the date it is postmarked.
• Premium processing will not start until after the random selection process has been completed.
• Master's cap cases (the 20,000 H-1Bs reserved for graduates of US graduate degree programs) will be adjudicated first and if there is a lottery for those cases, cases not selected in the master's cap will be thrown in to the general lottery for the 65,000 H-1Bs available.

Comments

[Greg Siskind]

Protectionists always shape their argument in these kinds of terms and they're always wrong. The laws of economics don't change. My true intentions are to promote free markets. I've told you many times Roy that I'm happy to get out of the business of being an immigration lawyer if we allowed for a truly free market. I have no doubt I can find another channel for my talents. I don't need labor welfare to protect my job or my salary. I'm done with the discussion because you basically just repeat the same arguments over and over again and they're just tired and not believable. I hope you show more innovation as an entrepreneur.

[R. Lawson]

"Yawn. Once again, its about protectionism. "

Yes. About protecting corporation's ability to exploit people from third world countries. To that degree, it is protectionism.

So you admit it is an effort to drive down salaries? Please make sure you mention that in all of your articles. I think the American public has a right to know your true intentions.

And your true intentions will harm American innovation. That is truly shameful. You have been quite efficient at propping up Indian technology companies. If only you used that power for good.

[Greg Siskind]

Yawn. Once again, its about protectionism. Artificially create a shortage situation to push up prices. Gee, just like OPEC. A cartel is a cartel is a cartel whether its PG or the Saudis. Shameful.

[R. Lawson]

"I think the H-1B program needs to be uncapped and we should have a free market. I want you and your PG colleagues to have to compete in a meritocracy and not be given labor welfare. "

No, what you want is to do something that would decrease wages in our occupation - making even less desirable for recent computer science grads. Greenspan calls this "leveling action".

So in order for the policies of you and other free traders to work, you must bring down wages. There must be a race to the bottom. At least Greenspan is honest about this.

Your crowd has the audacity to claim that the H-1b is good for American workers - though not a single labor group I am aware of supports such a view.

One of the goals of temporary worker programs is to drive down wages. That was an unstated goal until Greenspan opened his mouth and let out the real reasons:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021508dnbusgreenspan.c1d69e5d.html
"Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves
two problems," he said. The companies could hire the educated
workers they need. And those workers would compete with
high-income people, driving more income equality, he said.

So for the free trade policies of Siskind, Bush, and the elitists in Washington to work - wages must go down. How many Americans realize that our government's goal is to lower wages? To take away more wealth from the skilled class?

I don't think you've heard this argument before.

[Greg Siskind]

And Roy, we've had this discussion so many times here and you can't seem to come up with anything new. Please try harder or move on.

[Greg Siskind]

I think the H-1B program needs to be uncapped and we should have a free market. I want you and your PG colleagues to have to compete in a meritocracy and not be given labor welfare. The H-1B cap was hit last year on the first day. If your folks couldn't find jobs between April 2, 2007 and March 31, 2008, it's because employers didn't think you were worth hiring. You can't blame foreign workers for taking jobs when they were banned from entry. Sad, but true. But you can go back in to denial mode. It's always easy to blame others than actually accept responsibility for your problems.

[Greg Siskind]

I think the H-1B program needs to be uncapped and we should have a free market. I want you and your PG colleagues to have to compete in a meritocracy and not be given labor welfare. The H-1B cap was hit last year on the first day. If your folks couldn't find jobs between April 2, 2007 and March 31, 2008, it's because employer didn't think you were worth hiring. You can't blame foreign workers for taking jobs when they were banned from entry. Sad, but true. But you can go back in to denial mode. It's always easy to blame others than actually accept responsibility for your problems.

[R. Lawson]

"Universities are cap exempt, not primary and secondary schools. And nonprofit RESEARCH institutions qualify for cap exemption, not just nonprofits. "

OK, I see your point regarding who qualifies under the exemption. I denounce my previous statement. But I don't reject it. Just denounce ;-)

The PG solution wouldn't be a perfect program, but it would be far better than it is today. At least doctors and researchers get a step up and junior level developers aren't displacing them. The H-1b program isn't designed to solve all of our national woes - nor should it be. We need to pull ourselves up and solve our own problems.

If we weren't spending our national treasure on senseless wars (as your readers have pointed out) perhaps we could increase spending on education.

The point is Greg - pick a problem that the H-1b is to resolve. Let's focus on that. Do you want it to address labor shortages? If so, give it to the most needy (those willing to pay the most). Obviously a shortage of labor would result in high wages - so those paying the highest wages obviously are most deserving.

Do you want it to boost education in our public school systems? If so, give them preference (instead of preference to the highest paid).

Do you want it to keep salaries low in IT occupations and pad the pockets of offshoring firms? No action is required - it already serves that purpose.

You want the H-1b to be all things to all people. That just won't work.

[Greg Siskind]

Roy - For someone who has made it your life's mission to focus on restricting H-1B visas, you show a shocking ignorance of the law surrounding H-1B visas. Universities are cap exempt, not primary and secondary schools. And nonprofit RESEARCH institutions qualify for cap exemption, not just nonprofits. Why don't you revisit your previous post and see if you can reshape your argument in line with the law as it actually is?

[R. Lawson]

"If we want to compete 20 and 30 years from now, we need America's youth to get top flight training in math and science."

Teachers already have a cap exemption in academia, as do non profits and charities. What schools do not? For profit charter schools? I oppose that anyways - for the same reason I oppose private prisons. Public education is the role of the government, not private enterprise. If I want my children to attend a for profit school, I will pay for them to attend one.

"unless Roy just hates America's young, poor and infirm - but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and just assume he didn't really mean to sell out those communities simply in order to drive up salaries for IT workers"

LOL. No Greg. I absolutely hate them. Every waking hour it gnaws at me that these poor young people are getting an education and the middle class is paying for it. (That is sarcasm for anyone who dares take me out of context)

So you prefer the current lottery system where junior level IT people are beating out doctors? What the PG suggested is better than what you have today. I think Greg's argument about private schools is really a straw man argument. Anyways, the PG never said their solution would make the H-1b perfect - just better.

If I didn't know better, I would say that Greg hates doctors because he wants a system that gives junior level IT people preference over a doctor, who could save the lives of children. I never figured him for a guy who wants our children to be killed! LOL.

Thought I would have a stab at your form of reasoning ;-)

[b]

"
"So, a doctor practicing in a more affluent area gets preference over someone in a poorer community due to salary imbalance? "

Yes, that is how it would work. "

Okay, I now know PG has not thought it through carefully.

[Sid]

First of all, it's insane to compare salaries across different professions.

If you absolutely have to give preference to higher paying jobs, you need to normalize the salaries with a cost of living factor for the comparison to appear fair to a number cruncher.

[Greg Siskind]

Actually, the people who lose the most under the silly and short-sighted PG proposal to reward based strictly on salary are teachers. If we want to compete 20 and 30 years from now, we need America's youth to get top flight training in math and science. Well, there's a shortage of teachers in those fields (as has been the case for decades). Many school systems have made up the gap with H-1Bs. And guess what? Many school systems are not cap exempt. And a lot of non-profits and charities use H-1Bs since they have trouble attracting Americans who would prefer to make more money in the for-profit sector. When you view the world narrowly like Roy and the PG crowd, there are lots of unintended consequences (unless Roy just hates America's young, poor and infirm - but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and just assume he didn't really mean to sell out those communities simply in order to drive up salaries for IT workers).

[R. Lawson]

"So, a doctor practicing in a more affluent area gets preference over someone in a poorer community due to salary imbalance? "

Yes, that is how it would work.

However, I doubt that a doctor in a poorer community earns less than most software engineers so in practice it probably wouldn't be an issue in terms of getting preference under the cap.

[b]

"The PG position would give the medical profession a much larger share since they proposed preference..."

So, a doctor practicing in a more affluent area gets preference over someone in a poorer community due to salary imbalance?

[R. Lawson]

"many many of us are not. "

But, the largest share does go to IT. So this is an issue that impacts IT the most.

The PG position would give the medical profession a much larger share since they proposed preference in a lottery based on highest salary. I would think people outside of IT would support that. Do you?

[Sid]

"Please spare us this crap."

No one put a gun to your head. You don't have to read this crap.

[that simple?]

Yeah, I second that
I am sick of this H1B discussion that presumes that every worker is in IT. many many of us are not. Please spare us this crap.
We are dealing with enough from Congress and USCIS already.

[R. Lawson]

" Is that what you want - all H1Bs going to IT? (I'm sure the answer is yes for Roy, since that would make it easier for him to complain about H1Bs in IT)."

I would be a fool if I wanted all visas to go to IT - from a purely selfish perspective what sense does it make to want your occupation flooded with low paid and exploitable workers? So it's strange you say something like that.

I don't participate in this discussion so I have something to argue about. I would love for this issue to be resolved because there are many other things I would like to discuss.

If there were more doctors getting H-1b visas than entry level software developers, maybe we wouldn't have a problem in IT.

The PG just advocated that salary be the determining factor when it comes to having more applicants than visas. Surely doctors on the H-1b would appreciate such a position since their high salaries almost guarantees them preference.

[Legal and no longer waiting]

May I just remind everyone that half of H1Bs don't even know what you guys are talking about, since they are not even in IT professions. And guess what - the more you restrict H1B rules, the more non-IT employers will throw in the towel. Is that what you want - all H1Bs going to IT? (I'm sure the answer is yes for Roy, since that would make it easier for him to complain about H1Bs in IT).

[R. Lawson]

Sid, I knew that raise your eyebrows. Ligthen up. Get some sunlight, it will make you feel better.

[Sid]

"I think the C and C++ developers will do just fine. They will always have jobs - of course they are all in dark musty rooms and none of them seem to have access to an electric shaver ;-)"

Coming from a member of a group that's always complaining that American tech workers are being unfairly stereotyped as being lazy and stupid, sounds a bit silly. More so, because apart from C/C++ part, I don't see anything/anyone around me that fits the description.

[Sid]

"I wish the IT industry would quit moaning about shortages because we all know it is BS."

Speak for yourself. Not everyone in the world uses .NET or even Microsoft products for development. The biggest barrier to resolving the H-1B debate is that people assume that all jobs in IT require exactly the same skills. Try to get your .NET friends to do kernel programming or get a kernel programmer to design a web site. Barring a few well rounded guys, the results will be disastrous. Maybe there isn't any shortage in your area of expertise, don't assume that there isn't any shortage in other areas.

[R. Lawson]

"I would postulate that these are the folks who rather than upgrading their skills want the easy way out and want to be protected from the H1b competition."

I agree with what you have said for some of them (I know a few who have made the transition OK).

I would also point out that the "SNOBOL/COBOL Crowd" is going to have a difficult time breaking into newer technologies. Many of these environments are procedural and the learning curve needed to understand some of the higher level languages is huge. Not only must they learn OOP, they must also learn architecture and in many cases web technologies. A college grad would probably have an easier transition.

Of course, there is a place for these guys - which is management. Strange how all the slow ones go into management ;-) Maybe they can teach.

I think the C and C++ developers will do just fine. They will always have jobs - of course they are all in dark musty rooms and none of them seem to have access to an electric shaver ;-)

[USC]

"And I wish the Cobol programmers would realize it's time to learn a new trick."

Alongwith the ALGOL & SNOBOL folks. I would postulate that these are the folks who rather than upgrading their skills want the easy way out and want to be protected from the H1b competition.