Communications of the ACM
H-1b Visa Program For Technology Workers Slows nder Trump
Stacked shipments of H-1B visa petitions outside a government processing center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., earlier this year.
Credit: The New York Times
The Trump administration has dramatically stepped up its scrutiny of visa applications for technology workers, forcing some Massachusetts companies and academic institutions to wait months to fill jobs designated for overseas workers.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is challenging the work credentials of a much higher percentage of applicants this year than in previous periods, requiring more companies to provide documentation to prove the proposed employee both had special skills and will be paid at a fair rate.
Through the first eight months of 2017, the immigration agency issued more than 85,000 "requests for evidence" to applicants for H-1B visas, the highest number since 2009 and a 45 percent increase over the comparable period in 2016.
William Brah, director of the Venture Development Center at University of Massachusetts Boston, which brings in international entrepreneurs to mentor students while starting companies, said candidates for his program are seeing an unprecedented number of roadblocks.
From The Boston Globe
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