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The Indian Eye
IMMIGRATION AUGUST 18, 2023 54
Eliminate the H-1B and
Green Card Caps!
BY CYRUS D. MEHTA and tronic registrations using a tificially limiting the number
random selection process. We of new H-1B petitions that
KAITLYN BOX*
will announce once we have can be filed in a fiscal year
completed this second selec- is thus not only a point of
n July 27, 2023, US- tion process and have noti- frustration for prospective
CIS announced that fied all prospective petition- beneficiaries, but also detri-
Oit will conduct a sec- ers with selected registrations mental to the needs of U.S.
ond round of selections for from this round of selection businesses. The cap’s detri-
the FY 2024 H-1B lottery. that they are eligible to file mental impact on U.S. busi-
An alert posted on the US- an H-1B cap-subject petition ness interests is amplified by
CIS website stated that “We for the beneficiary named in the fact that other countries
recently determined that we the applicable selected regis- have begun implementing
would need to select addi- tration.” Attorneys have been more favorable programs for
tional registrations to reach notified of additional selec- found that the selection welcome news to prospec- holders of U.S. H-1B visas.
the FY 2024 numerical allo- tions through their myUSCIS rates in this second round tive beneficiaries and U.S. As analyzed by David Isaa-
cations. Soon, we will select accounts throughout this past of the H-1B lottery for some employers alike. However, cson in a recent blog, Cana-
additional registrations from weekend. of our clients is slightly bet- this additional round of se- da announced a measure in
previously submitted elec- Anecdotally, we have June 2023 that will allow U.S.
ter than the selection rates lections is not the victory it H-1B visa holders to “apply
in the first round. Still, seems because it is merely for a Canadian work permit,
selection rates in for a reflection of an inherently and study or work permit op-
this year’s lottery were flawed system. tions for their accompanying
much lower than those In previous blogs, we family members”. The Cana-
observed in prior years, have advocated for the abol- dian program styled as the
and USCIS indicated ishment of the H-1B lot- “H-1B visa holder permit”
that this was the result of tery, which in turn means is indeed unique as it has
a striking increase in the that the H-1B cap should targeted the visa program of
number of registrations, be abolished. If there is no another country in the glob-
including multiple reg- cap, there is no need for a al competition for talent. By
istrations for the same lottery. The lottery is an ar- needlessly restricting the flow
beneficiary. USCIS fur- bitrary and whimsical system of highly-skilled workers into
ther acknowledged that that needlessly prevents U.S. the country, the U.S. may
“large number of eligi- employers from employing soon begin to lose top talent
ble registrations for ben- highly-skilled foreign work- to competitor countries.
eficiaries with multiple ers they want that would help Opponents of ending the
eligible registrations – them remain competitive H-1B lottery or increasing the
much larger than in pre- and profitable. In industries cap sometimes suggest that the
vious years – has raised like tech and finance, there program is a source of cheap
serious concerns that are an insufficient number labor, and allowing more
some may have tried to of qualified U.S. workers to highly-skilled foreign work-
gain an unfair advantage fill available positions. The
m of by working together to fact that the number of reg- ers to take up jobs in the U.S.
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC submit multiple regis- istrations far outstrips the would harm the employment
prospects of U.S. workers.
trations on behalf of the number of available visas is a
However, this conten-
same beneficiary”, and function of the market and il- tion is without merit. In a
committed to investigate lustrates the level of demand
and combat fraudulent for highly-skilled foreign previous blog on this top-
ic, we discussed a Center of
registrations. When so workers. When the Ameri- Growth and Opportunity
few registrations were can Competitiveness in the paper which found that high-
initially selected in this 21st Century Act (AC 21) in-
year’s lottery, news of creased number of available ly-skilled foreign workers are
a second round of se- visas to 195,000 in 2000, the “paid a wage premium of 29.5
2 6th Floor percent” in comparison to
lections likely comes as cap was never reached. Ar-
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