H-1B quota steeply down

AHMEDABAD: The US is finally shutting its doors on foreign techies. From October 1, the H-1B quota will reduce to 65,000 per year, from its current cap of 1,95,000. The new US immigration department approved Immigration and Naturalisation Service’s proposal for the new ceiling this week.
The main reason for the reduction has been the fact that the 1,95,000 cap was not being fully utilised.During the first three quarters of 2002, only 60,500 people were approved for H-1B. During the same period in 2001, 1,30,700 people were approved. During the first nine months of 2002, only 1,59,000 H-1B petitions were filed compared to 2,70,000 and 2,20,000 for the same period in 2001 and 2000, notes an annual report by INS.
This data shows a decline of 41 per cent in filing petition between the first nine months of 2001 and the first nine months of 2002, notes annual visa statistics report by INS. The annual quota for H1-B was 1,15,000 for the fiscal years 1999 and 2000 and reduced the same to 1,07,500 for 2001. Again the cap increased to 1,95,000 for 2001, 2002 and 2003 finally leading to the current decline.
The figures of the American embassy at New Delhi also show a decline. Gordon Duguid, press officer at the embassy says 19,443 H-1B visas were issued from New Delhi during March 1999 to March 2000, while from March 2000 to March 2001 the number rose to 31,287 and from March ‘01 to March ‘02 again it tumbled to 19,713. This shows slump in demand for IT workers. With this reduction, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 which introduced provisions concerning H-1 visa has also been amended. Instead of allowing H-1Bs to stay for only six years, the amendment allows them to stay without restrictions.
It has introduced the concept of 1H-1B portability’ and has created an exemption from the normal six-year limit of total stay in H-1B status for beneficiaries of permanent residence process which reached certain stages in the approval process. Under the new rule the additional filing fee has been increased from $1,000 to $1,130.