H-1B Visa Bill – Update and To-Do

The current H1B Visa Bill seems to have created a lot of doubt and confusion amongst students applying to/studying/working in USA. We hope that this will help to clear the picture a bit.

What is happening? 

The H1B visa reform bill (The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017) has been tabled by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat.

The Bill proposes to raise the minimum salary for visa holders to be $130,000 among other significant changes.

Why is this important? 

The USCIS issues 85,000 H1B visas every year and allots them via lottery (~70% of these go to Indians). The number of applicants for the visa every year are around 230,000. Without these visas, an international student cannot legally work in the US for a long time.

To get the visa however, you need to have a certain basic salary amount. There are 4 levels defined for this salary amount.

The Bill proposes to remove the lowest level of salary and to increase the minimum requirement for the highest level.

How does this impact you? 

All high-skilled jobs – which includes all streams of engineering fall under Level 4.

Hence, if the bill is passed you may have to find jobs that are in that pay you this much amount of salary.

What is the Probability of the bill getting passed?

This bill has been introduced by the minority party (the opposition) in the House. The Republicans (Donald Trump’s party) had proposed a similar bill last year (‘Protect and Grow American Jobs Act‘) which raised the salary bar to $100,000. The Bill was reintroduced four weeks back by the ruling party.

In essence, both bills are the same except the key difference of minimum salary.

However, as both parties are at loggerheads, it would be difficult to pass the bill so quickly. Secondly, a lot of US and Indian tech giants are appealing to US government to reconsider key provisions of the bill.

What should be my Plan B?

Even in the worst case scenario, if the Democrat version of the bill is passed, not all is lost. You still have options based. If you are:

i. Master’s Student in US

You can use your OPT to work between 1 (non-STEM) and 3 years (STEM) there and try to get a salary raise to meet the new H1 requirement. Alternately, try to look to companies that have international operations and build a good rapport so that you can get internal transfers

ii. Bachelor’s Student is US

Level 4 salary requirement might not be applicable to you. Consult an H1 Visa lawyer. Also, the same advise for OPT and transfer applies to you. In case you want to stay over in the US, you may consider doing a Master’s Degree via GRE or GMAT.

iii. Student Applicant for Fall 2017/Spring 2018//Fall 2018

You need not worry – by the time you finish your degree in 2019-2020; there might be a more open policy due to elections in 2020. Also, the salary levels would have adjusted or H1 norms would have changed as the industry cannot survive without the skilled workers. You will also have your OPT for part of cost recovery.

A smarter application strategy would be to first apply to colleges that will give you tuition waivers, reducing your overall cost. Second, you can think of applying to countries other than US.

iv. For All Students

Let’s say that you don’t find the job that lands you with an H1. Still the college brand stays with you. As companies would need to fill these roles, you may see these roles opening up in other locations such as India, Singapore etc. You would be better off with an Internationally renowned brand.

Hence, Keep Calm and Wait for events to unfold