H-1B Visa Applications To Be Deleted From March 20; What Does It Mean For Workers In US, Key Details

H-1B Visa Deletion: Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) will delete old H-1B visa applications starting March 20 and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a new system for the process. Any record older than five years will be deleted from the system. So, if the final determination date of a case is March 22, 2020, the application will be deleted on March 22 this year. The employers have been asked to download any case older than five years by March 19.

The H-1B visa system is a way for foreign skilled workers looking to find work in the country. The new system is said to be implemented by US President Donald Trump’s administration to make the process more transparent and effective.

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H-1B Visa Deletion: What Does It Mean For Workers

All temporary labour condition applications, including H-1B, will be deleted beginning on March 20 and eliminated from the FLAG system. Instead, the USCIS will launch a new application process that is touted to be more fair and equal for all applicants, as per a report by the Financial Times.

In the previous system, multiple employers could submit applications for a single individual. In the new system for H-1B visas, however, this will be replaced by a fairer method that gives all applicants an equal chance regardless of how many employers file for them.

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The revised system will select beneficiaries rather than applications, preventing duplicate entries for the same person. This eliminates the advantage that large corporations had in the previous system, which allowed them to submit multiple applications for the same individual. The registration fee will also shoot up significantly, from USD 10 to USD 215 per entry.

Another change is that the USCIS will require candidates to register online. Employers must register before filing the complete H-1B petition, which will help the USCIS expedite the process.

The new system promises better selection fairness for employees and more efficient application processing. It will also increase the expenses for the employers, who will now have to choose who they sponsor a little more carefully.