US immigration calls for work permit applications
June 09 2009 by Robbie Ragless
What next for US visa?
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is calling for more petitions for H1B US visas that allow highly skilled immigrants to work in the US, often in the IT and engineering industries.
In the past, the annual quota for H1B USA visas has been filled within a week. However, it has now been eight weeks since the visa quota for the year beginning 2010 was opened and only 45,000 visas have been taken, leaving a further 20,000 so far unclaimed.
Sharon Schneidhauer from the USCIS says, “we are still accepting petitions, so folks who are interested should apply and get their petitions in.”
Part of the reason for the slow take-up is the economic downturn, leaving some firms that would usually recruit many people from abroad to work in the US, without the cash to employ any new staff. However, another problem is the new rules preventing firms that accept funding from the troubled asset relief funding (tarp) from accepting foreign workers.
This protectionist measure is causing headaches for firms that usually thrive by recruiting through US immigration. Examples include the Indian-owned technology companies operating in California, who previously hired or transferred staff from their Indian offices to work in the US.
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