Popular US job visa H-1B opens to a slow start in India
09 Apr 2011
The popular US work visa, called the H-1B visa, which opened on 1 April, has received a rather slow response from Indian IT professionals with less than 6,000 applications received so far.
This shows a slowing trend in the flow of jobseekers to the US. The H-1B visa applications used to reach the cap within days of its opening until a few years ago.
Applications for H-1B visas in fiscal 2011 also reached its cap only in January this year while the visa cap for the previous year was reached on 22 December 2010.
"USCIS has received approximately 5,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap, and approximately 4,500 petitions toward the 20,000 cap exemption for individuals with advanced degrees," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement.
The visa applications will be considered for the fiscal year 2012 that begins on 1 October 2011 and the USCIS said it would continue to receive applications for the H-1B visa till the caps are reached.
The USCIS will receive a maximum of 65,000 applications for the H-1B visa, which is the most sought after by Indian computer technology professionals, as approved by the US Congress.
However, this cap will not affect the first 20,000 H-1B visa applications filed on behalf of persons with a US master's degree or higher.
It also excludes those who will work at institutions of higher learning or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organisations or governmental research organisations.