USCIS says that H-1B visa workers can work for more than one employer

USCIS, the federal immigration agency of the US has said that overseas H-1B visa workers in the US can work for more than one employer. The H-1B visas are the most sought after by the IT professionals in India.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services revealed this in a tweet yesterday. It said that generally, the overseas H-1B visa workers in the US can work for more than one employer. But they must obtain the approval for I-129 form for each, it added. Before the worker possessing the H-1B visa begins to work, the new employer must submit the I-129 application, it said.

The form furnished for a non-migrant worker by employers or potential employers to the USCIS is known as the Form I -129. It is for obtaining the worker on a non-migrant visa status. Though this is not a new law, very fewer people are aware of this, as quoted by the Times of India.

H-1B visa is a non-migrant visa. It permits US firms to hire overseas workers in highly skilled jobs that require technological or theoretical expertise. The IT firms in the US are reliant on this visa to hire several thousands of workers annually from nations such as China and especially India.

The annual cap of 65, 000 visas exist for the H-1B visas. This is as per the mandate of the US Congress. 20,000 more applications that are filed for those who possess a Master’s or Doctoral degree in the US are free from this annual cap.

Additional exemptions also exist for the annual cap of H-1B visa workers. This includes workers who are employed by higher education institution or related to or affiliated to it’s not for profit entities. Not for profit organizations for research or research organizations of the government are also not subject to the annual visa cap for H-1B visas.

In the meantime, the Cato Institute an US think-tank has revealed its report for 2015 for US Green Cards. It observes that 56% of the green cards based on employment were obtained by the family members of the workers. The remaining 44% were obtained by the workers themselves, elaborated the report.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to the US, contact Y-Axis, the world’s most trusted Immigration & Visa Consultant.