Computer programming no longer considered an automatic H-1B highly-skilled worker visa
News from India West
A new policy memo was released March 31 by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stating that computer programming will no longer be considered a specialty occupation for H-1B visas.
The new USCIS guidelines make it harder for computer programmers to qualify for an H-1B visa. Applicants will have to provide additional documentation showing proof they are qualified whereas before most programmers had to state they had a bachelors degree or higher but did not need to specify, even an associate or a two year degree was enough.
Immigration attorney, John Lawit, told India West that the government allotted 185,000 H-1B visas per year and the new allocation will be 85,000 per year allowing for only a handful of companies to get the majority of visas.
