DHS Proposes Stricter Regulations For H-1B Visa programme

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),  stricter draft rules for strengthening the H-1B programme. The draft will be cleared by the OMB after reviewing and it is expected to be active immediately after the clearance.

If implemented , the rules can cause serious damage to the IT sector, especially to Indian IT services firms as they are the biggest beneficiaries of H-1B.

According to the OMB, these changes include revising the definition of specialty occupation to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B programme.

The changes also include revising the definition of employment and employer-employee relationship to better protect the US workers and wages. “In addition, DHS will propose additional requirements designed to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders,” the OMB website informed.