The U.S. said, June 1, that in order to qualify for an H-1B numerical cap exemption based upon a master\u2019s or higher degree, the conferring institution must have qualified as a \u201cUnited States institution of higher education\u201d at the time the beneficiary\u2019s degree was earned, writes Lalit K. Jha.<\/b><\/p>\n
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As mandated by the Congress, the U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services can issue up to 65,000 H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, every year.<\/p>\n
In addition to this, another 20,000 foreign students having masters or higher degree from a U.S. institute of higher education are exempted from the 65,000 Congressional limit.<\/p>\n
A clarification memorandum from the USCIS came in response to a petition in this regard by Leena R. Kamat from California who temporarily sought to employee people under H- 1B visas having higher education.<\/p>\n
The Director of the California Service Center denied the H-1B petition, concluding that the beneficiary did not qualify for the claimed master\u2019s cap exemption.<\/p>\n
More specifically, the Director determined that the degree-conferring institution was not accredited at the time it awarded the beneficiary\u2019s master\u2019s degree, and thus the beneficiary had not earned his degree, as required, from a \u201cUnited States institution of Higher Education.\u201d<\/p>\n
As per the U.S. memorandum dated May 23, which was released to the press June 1, the USCIS ruled that the H-1B applicant had earned his degree from the International Technological University, in California, on December 31, 2010, before the university obtained its pre-accreditation or accreditation status.<\/p>\n
The record contains a letter from ITU, stating that the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) granted ITU \u201cCandidacy status\u201d in 2011.<\/p>\n
In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa program to stop \u201cvisa abuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said his administration is going to enforce \u2018Hire American\u2019 rules that are designed to protect jobs and wages of workers in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The executive order also called upon the Departments of Labor, Justice, Homeland Security, and the State to take action against fraud and abuse of our visa programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. said, June 1, that in order to qualify for an H-1B numerical cap exemption based upon a master\u2019s or higher degree, the conferring institution must have qualified as a \u201cUnited States institution of higher education\u201d at the time the beneficiary\u2019s degree was earned, writes Lalit K. Jha. As mandated by the Congress, the…<\/p>\n