Washington:
For Indian and other foreign students passing out from American universities
with masters or higher degrees, 20,000 sought-after H1-B visas will be issued
by the US till September this year. Under
the new visa rules to be effective from Tuesday, foreign students having masters
or higher degrees from the US universities can apply for the non-immigration
visa that allow them to work in the country to help it maintain its competitive
edge, immigration authorities said. This
fresh package of 20,000 visas are in addition to the annual cap of 65,000
H1-B visas and could benefit many Indian students here looking for a job after
finishing their masters, doctoral or post-doctoral studies. However,
US institutions employing such people needs to pay 'American competitiveness
and workforce improvement fee of $1,500 besides a new 'fraud prevention and
detection fee' of USD 500. The
H-1B visa is valid for three years for the first time and could be extended
for another three years. During H1-B period, an immigration petition can be
filed to apply for a permanent resident visa, the green card. Extension,
renewal or transferring of the exist H1-B visas does not count towards the
cap. The sponsorship of a US employer is mandatory for applying for H1-B visa. In
the past years, the cap of 65,000 was reached by April or May and the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services stopped accepting new H1-B applications.
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