Starting today, August 2, the United States will be accepting fresh petitions for H-1B visas – registrations of which were accepted recently through a random process of selection to meet the H-1B cap for the fiscal year 2022.
In June 2021, 3,08,000 applications reached the US immigration agency during the initial registration period for the coveted H-1B work permit in 2022. This was an increase of over 12.5 percent over the current year.
As many as 87,500 applicants were selected for the high technology work permit during the year.
“We use historical data related to approvals, denials, revocations, and other relevant factors to calculate the number of registrations needed to meet the H-1B cap for a given fiscal year,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services was quoted as saying. “We recently determined that we needed to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2022 numerical allocations.”
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) follows the October to September financial year cycle. The agency confirmed in a statement that it will accept fresh petitions till November 3.
For H-1B petitions, online filing is unavailable. These petitions must be filed via paper. A printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice is required to be included with the FY 2022 H-1B cap-subject petition.
The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). This visa allows US employers to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations temporarily. The duration of stay is three years and can be extended to six years. After this period, however, the visa holder may have to reapply.
To remain in H-1B status, a person already in the status must continue to be employed by their employer. If their employment ends for any reason, they must leave the United States. They can, however, continue to stay in the US if they apply for and are granted a change of status or if they manage to find another employer compatible with the H-1B status.
The H-1B visa has its roots in the H1visa of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The Immigration Act of 1990 created the split between H-1A (for nurses) and H-1B.
