H-1B VISA

H-1B Visa of the United States

H-1B VISA

H-1B Visa of the United States

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H).
The visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations which require theoretical or technical expertise in that specialised fields. The technology companies or IT companies depend on H-1B visa to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.
The duration of stay under this Visa is 3 years, extendable to 6 years.


The US gives 65,000 H-1B visas every year and an additional 20,000 more to foreign students in US.
According to The US "Department of Homeland Security" 70 per cent of the 65,000 H-1B visas went to Indians in 2014.
About 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh Indian engineers are on H-1B visas at present in US, industry estimates reports.
Last year in 2016, till August, Indian workers had received 72 per cent of total H-1B visas issued worldwide.
On 31st January legislation was introduced in the US House of Representatives about H-1B visa.
The legislation is to mandate the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders from $60,000(at present) to $130,000 (almost double). This legislation also proposes to eliminate the 'lowest pay' category. The raised salary level should be more than $130,000.
The current H-1B minimum wage is $60,000, which was established in 1989 since then it is unchanged.
According to the proposed order, American companies would have to hire American first. If they recruit foreign workers, priority should be given to the most highly paid.