WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Foreigners hoping to make a move west will now be subject to a longer visa approval process after the Trump administration announced it will temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1B visas.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday that starting April 3 it will suspend “premium processing” for up to six months. Under the expedited procedure, applicants can be eligible to receive their visas in as little as 15 days, instead of the regular review period, which often spans the period of several months.
The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows U.S. companies to employ graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics.
USCIS said during the suspension period applicants will still be allowed to request expedited consideration, but will be required to meet certain criteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe financial loss to a company or individual. The current annual cap of H-1B visas is 65,000 yearly, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who have earned advanced college degrees in the United States.
Once granted, the visa is valid for three years, and can be extended for an additional three years after its expiration.
The agency said suspending the expedited program will better allow for them to process the backlog of current applications, and thus reduce overall H-1B processing times.
President Donald Trump campaigned last year on a promise to crack down on immigrants who he said were taking jobs from U.S. citizens.
