USA holder visumlotteri for 85,000 XNUMX fagarbeidere

 Et amerikansk visumprogram gjennomførte søndag et lotteri for å tildele 85,000 XNUMX plasser til høyt kvalifiserte arbeidere bare én uke etter at søknadsperioden åpnet, sa Citizenship and Immigration Service, som signaliserte at selskaper føler seg trygge nok på økonomien til å ansette flere utenlandske arbeidere.

USCIS holdt lotteriet for å godkjenne begjæringer for sporene etter at det mottok omtrent 124,000 1 H-1B-begjæringer forrige uke, inkludert begjæringer inngitt for innehavere av avanserte grader fra amerikanske universiteter. USCIS begynte å akseptere begjæringer om visum for bare en uke siden, XNUMX. april og sluttet å akseptere dem fem dager senere på grunn av stor etterspørsel. The last time the USCIS used a lottery this quickly to grant H-1B visas, a type companies must initiate, was in 2008, before the economic crisis hit.

In April that year, when unemployment was around 5 percent, it received 163,000 petitions in five days. Now the economy seems to be improving, with the unemployment rate nudging down to 7.6 percent last month according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as wages edge up. The cap includes 65,000 high-skilled workers, plus a separate H-1B allocation of 20,000 masters and PhD graduates from U.S. universities. The actual granting of visas is made by the State Department, the final step for any H-1B applicant. Petitioners are being notified by U.S. mail if they have won a slot, USCIS said. Those who have not will receive their petitions in the mail, along with their refunded filing fees. The H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa in the United States that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.

The duration of stay is three years, extendable to six years. U.S. companies, particularly in technology, say they need the visas to fill vacant positions. But some worker-advocacy groups counter that the companies are using the visa program to hire cheaper foreign labor. While the official quota is 65,000, the actual number of people who enter the United States on H-1Bs is higher because workers at universities and some other workplaces do not count toward the limit. The USCIS is still accepting petitions for those exempted categories of worker, it said. Last year, the government issued 129,000 H-1B visas.

Indian nationals received the largest number. U.S. Congress is currently working on immigration reform legislation. Among the proposals is a revamp of the H-1B program that could raise the quota based on demand and eliminate the lottery. Sarah McBride April 8, 2013