यूएस मध्ये 85,000 कुशल कामगारांसाठी व्हिसा लॉटरी आहे

 यूएस व्हिसा कार्यक्रमाने अर्जाचा कालावधी उघडल्यानंतर फक्त एक आठवड्यानंतर उच्च-कुशल कामगारांसाठी 85,000 स्लॉट देण्यासाठी रविवारी लॉटरी काढली, नागरिकत्व आणि इमिग्रेशन सर्व्हिसने सांगितले की, सिग्नल करणार्‍या कंपन्यांना अधिक परदेशी कामगारांना कामावर घेण्यास अर्थव्यवस्थेबद्दल पुरेसा विश्वास वाटतो.

USCIS ने मागील आठवड्यात अंदाजे 124,000 H-1B याचिका प्राप्त केल्यानंतर स्लॉट्ससाठी याचिका मंजूर करण्यासाठी लॉटरी काढली, ज्यामध्ये यू.एस. विद्यापीठांमधून प्रगत पदवीधारकांसाठी दाखल केलेल्या याचिकांचा समावेश आहे. USCIS ने एक आठवड्यापूर्वी, 1 एप्रिल रोजी व्हिसासाठी याचिका स्वीकारण्यास सुरुवात केली आणि जास्त मागणीमुळे पाच दिवसांनंतर त्या स्वीकारणे बंद केले. The last time the USCIS used a lottery this quickly to grant H-1B visas, a type companies must initiate, was in 2008, before the economic crisis hit.

In April that year, when unemployment was around 5 percent, it received 163,000 petitions in five days. Now the economy seems to be improving, with the unemployment rate nudging down to 7.6 percent last month according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as wages edge up. The cap includes 65,000 high-skilled workers, plus a separate H-1B allocation of 20,000 masters and PhD graduates from U.S. universities. The actual granting of visas is made by the State Department, the final step for any H-1B applicant. Petitioners are being notified by U.S. mail if they have won a slot, USCIS said. Those who have not will receive their petitions in the mail, along with their refunded filing fees. The H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa in the United States that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.

The duration of stay is three years, extendable to six years. U.S. companies, particularly in technology, say they need the visas to fill vacant positions. But some worker-advocacy groups counter that the companies are using the visa program to hire cheaper foreign labor. While the official quota is 65,000, the actual number of people who enter the United States on H-1Bs is higher because workers at universities and some other workplaces do not count toward the limit. The USCIS is still accepting petitions for those exempted categories of worker, it said. Last year, the government issued 129,000 H-1B visas.

Indian nationals received the largest number. U.S. Congress is currently working on immigration reform legislation. Among the proposals is a revamp of the H-1B program that could raise the quota based on demand and eliminate the lottery. सारा मॅकब्राइड एप्रिल 8, 2013