H-1B visa cap for FY 2018 to remain unchanged, according to USCIS

Even as the US government has voiced its opposition to the H-1B visa program, the number of visas that will be issued under this program for the fiscal year 2018 will remain unchanged. This was revealed on the website of the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Just like in the previous years, 85,000 H-1B visas will be made available; of which 65,000 will be available as the standard cap limit, while 20,000 visas will be additionally issued to candidates who have graduated in the US with a master's degree or higher. Applications for this program will begin being accepted from 3 April 2017. TechRepublic said that many American companies, especially in the tech industry, can breathe easily now as they depend on this program to hire ‘skilled workers’ - a classification of the USCIS. Many were of the view that following the decision of the USCIS to temporarily halt the premium processing of H-1B applications in March, the cap limit would fall too. But this news has come as a godsend for many US companies. In fact, even before Trump was elected the US President, tech honchos were urging for the H-1B program’s expansion since the requirement of the tech workers in the US is much higher. If you are looking to migrate to the US, get in touch with Y-Axis, a leading immigration consultancy company, to apply for a visa from one of its several global offices.