Major overhaul being planned for H-1B visa programme: What we know so far

Currently, H-1B visas have an annual cap of 85,000.

A comprehensive regulatory overhaul of the United States' H-1B visa programme is currently being reviewed by the White House Office of Information of Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), as per a report in Bloomberg Law.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves H-1B visas. (Reuters File Photo)

President-elect Donald Trump, who will assume office on January 20, is likely to implement stricter immigration measures than the ones under Joe Biden, the outgoing President.

Last year, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued draft regulations to adjust the eligibility criteria, including degree requirements, for the specialty occupation visas used primarily by the tech industry to bring skilled foreign nations, the report said.

The OIRA received the final rule (1615-AC 70) on Thursday, it added.

Also, a rule was proposed earlier to restructure the annual lottery system for H1-B visas to ensure an equal chance to each applicant in the selection process. This rule was finalised in January ahead of the fiscal 2025 lottery.

Currently, H-1B visas have an annual cap of 85,000. Of these, 20,000 are set aside under the “advanced degree exemption” for beneficiaries who have earned a US master’s degree or higher.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, regulations aimed at improving worker protections in two seasonal visa programmes also passed White House review earlier this week.

A rule released in draft form last year (RIN 1615-AC76) focused on combating illegal fees and other abuses in the temporary H-2A and H-2B visas, which are for agricultural and non-farm seasonal workers, respectively.

The regulations include penalties such as up to 4-year bans for employers violating worker protections.