New H-1B visa filing rule to give priority to workers with advanced degrees from US

The US has announced a new H-1B visa filing rule from April under which priority would be given to foreign workers with advanced degrees from American universities, a decision that could impact professionals who received higher education in countries like India and China.

The H-1B visa, popular among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The final rule reverses the order by which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B petitions under the regular cap and the advanced degree exemption.

Among other things, it introduces an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

To be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, the new rule will go into effect on April 1, though the electronic registration requirement will be suspended for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season, the USCIS said.

"These simple and smart changes are a positive benefit for employers, the foreign workers they seek to employ, and the agency's adjudicators, helping the H-1B visa programme work better," said USCIS Director Francis Cissna.

Early this month, President Donald Trump said that he wants to bring in changes in the H-1B visa systems so that holders of these visas can stay in the country and accelerate their path to citizenship.

The new registration system, once implemented, will lower overall costs for employers and increase government efficiency, he said.

Cissna said the USCIS is also furthering Trump's goal of improving the immigration system by making a simple adjustment to the H-1B cap selection process.

As a result, US employers seeking to employ foreign workers with a US master's or higher degree will have a greater chance of selection in the H-1B lottery in years of excess demand for new H-1B visas, Cissna said