A comprehensive regulatory overhaul of the H-1B visa program is currently under review in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. This is the final step before its release.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last year issued draft regulations changing eligibility standards, including degree requirements, for specialty occupation visas used primarily in technology industries to hire skilled foreign workers. OIRA received the final rule (1615-AC70) on Thursday.
The previously published proposed rule also redesigned the annual visa lottery so that every potential beneficiary has an equal opportunity in the selection process. This lottery update was completed in January prior to the FY2025 Visa Lottery. The H-1B program is limited to 85,000 new visas per year.
The draft regulation also clarified eligibility for visas without a cap and included a policy that takes into account the Agency's previous decisions when deciding on visa extension applications.
Separate worker protection rules in two seasonal visa programs were also reviewed by the White House on Thursday.
A draft rule released last year (RIN 1615-AC76) targeted illegal fees and other worker abuses in the temporary H-2A and H-2B visa programs for seasonal agricultural and non-agricultural workers, respectively. The proposed regulations included bans of up to four years for employers found to have violated employee protection regulations.
The proposal also removed a mandate to annually publish the countries eligible for the seasonal visa programs.