Path Law Group Responds to the Second Annual Drop in H-1B Visa Applications
Ashkan Emami, Founding Partner, Believes "Specialty Occupation" Visa has Seen Applicants Decline for the Second Year in a Row Due to Presidential Policies
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications to the United States H-1B visa program fell for the second year in a row. They fell from 199,000 applications in 2017 to 190,098 for 2018. This continues the downward trend from 2016's record high of 236,000 applications.
The H-1B visa is an employment visa for foreign nationals in "specialty occupations." Tech companies routinely use the H-1B to source the best talent from across the globe. It's valid for three years and can be extended for an additional three.
Also worth noting is the limited number of H-1B visas available to corporations each year. Despite numbers falling for the second consecutive year, there is still much more demand than there are spots.
"An absurdly small number – 85,000 to be precise – of H-1B visa for for-profit companies are available each year. When you combine this with the current Administration's heavy-handed, anti-immigration stance, it's no wonder we're seeing applications drop," said Ashkan Emami, the founding partner of Path Law Group.
He went on to note, "'requests for evidence,' a tactic used by the government to bottleneck applications and deny otherwise qualified candidates, have close to doubled during Trump's presidency."
And it's true. The government has increased "requests for evidence," as well as denying more candidates. This has led some foreign professionals to consider less traditional options. These include the L-1b visa and the Eb-3 visa.
The L-1B visa allows companies to transfer international employees to their U.S. location. There are a number of caveats to this option, though, which make for a more rigorous application process. "You're looking at putting potential members of the American economy through hoop after hoop just so they can enter the country? This isn't how we became the greatest country in the world. Something needs to change," stated Ashkan.
Path Law Group is dedicated to helping immigration become more accessible. Led by a talented team of attorneys with close to a decade of world-class immigration experience, they're California's premier immigration law firm. Their clients include internationally recognized entrepreneurs, physicians, engineers, artists, and executives.
SOURCE Path Law Group
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