Tech companies have reportedly found a loophole in the highly sought-after H1-B visa lottery system for prospective employees. the Biden administration says they have found evidence that a small number of Companies joined together to Exploit H1-B lottery by entering the names of foreign employees several times to increase their chances of being selected, The Wall Street Journal mentioned.
USCIS awards short-term H1-B visas to 85,000 foreign applicants each year, creating a path for them to work for US-based companies. several Technology companies are now being investigated to Attempting to circumvent the system, which raises great concerns from the authorities.
A report from the Migration Agency said in location. The number of applications filed increased to 780,884 from 483,927 last year.
“The large number of eligible registrations for recipients with multiple eligible registrations — far greater than in previous years — has raised serious concerns that some may have attempted to gain an unfair advantage by working together to file multiple registrations on behalf of the same recipient,” she said. The Migration Agency states on its website, “This may have unfairly increased their chances of selection”.
Data reviewed by the agency showed that nearly 96,000 people submitted multiple visa applications through the same companies, accounting for 408,000 entries. While it is not illegal for a foreign worker for many companies to file an H1-B application, the company is required to confirm that it has a job in place for the candidate.
The application process has become much simpler in recent years after the former president Donald Trump It changed the H1-B application process by requiring companies to submit huge applications, explain how the employee qualifies for the visa, and pay thousands of dollars in application fees. Under the new rules, applicants only need to pay a $10 fee to submit their name for registration. President Joe Biden has kept the rules, but the government is now proposing to raise the filing fee to $215 and plans to further streamline the process to prevent fraudulent applications.
On its site, the immigration agency said, “USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) remains committed to deterring and preventing abuse of the registration process, and ensuring that only those who follow the law are eligible to file an H-1B petition.”
According to the WSJ, the government has not named the companies at this point because the investigation is ongoing. But people familiar with the situation told the outlet that the companies are smaller and not household names.