DHS Issues Proposed Rule to Modernize the H-1B Specialty Occupation Worker Program

HI INDIA NEWS DESK
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to modernize the H-1B specialty occupation worker program via a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). This aims to simplify eligibility criteria, enhance program efficiency, offer more benefits to employers and workers, and strengthen integrity measures. The H-1B program aids U.S. employers in hiring foreign workers with specialized skills while maintaining U.S. worker protections.

The proposed changes include:
• Reducing fraud risk: The new process would ensure that each individual’s registration is considered once, discouraging multiple registrations for the same beneficiary and increasing the chance of legitimate registrations being selected.

• Clarifying eligibility: Specialty occupation criteria will be clarified to reduce confusion and allow for a broader range of degrees, provided they are relevant to the job.

• Efficiency improvements: Adjudicators will generally defer to previous determinations when no significant changes have occurred.

• Flexibility for employers and workers: Certain exemptions to the H-1B cap would be expanded, including for nonprofit entities, government research organizations, and students seeking to change their status to H-1B. New eligibility requirements for rising entrepreneurs would also be established.

• Strengthening integrity measures: The rule would prevent related entities from submitting multiple registrations for the same beneficiary, empower USCIS to conduct site visits, and clarify that non-compliance with site visits could lead to petition denial or revocation.

The public has a 60-day comment period after the NPRM’s publication in the Federal Register.