Biden doing everything to improve H-1B visa process, says White House amid delay worries

The Biden administration is "doing everything" it can to improve the H-1B visa process, the White House said on Wednesday (Feb 29) amid worries over delays in the visas issued in large numbers by IT firms, mainly from India.

A White House spokesperson also said that the backlog in 'green card' for permanent residency, and other issues related to the country's legal immigration system, were all being worked upon.

"One of the steps, if we look at the H-1B visa process, we have taken action to improve that and the process and backlog for lawful permanent residents (green card) who are eligible to become US citizens," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa which permits companies based out of the United States to hire foreign nationals for specialised jobs that require advanced technical or theoretical training. A large number of these visas are lapped up every year by big Indian tech firms.

Jean-Pierre informed that efforts were being made to streamline the visa process, responding to concerns raised by a section of Indian Americans who were sceptical of Biden's efforts addressing the woes of legal immigrants as the US president was doing for illegal immigrants.

Biden on Thursday (Feb 29) will head to the southern border with Mexico in Texas.

"Just last month, for example, as a part of our efforts to strengthen the integrity of our immigration system and reduce the potential for fraud, the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] published a final rule relating to H-1B visa," Jean-Pierre said.

"So, the changes promote fairer and more equitable outcomes and, so, we will continue our work to improve the system within our authorities and that has certainly been a priority," she said.

The administration takes that "very seriously" and is continuing to do everything that it can to improve the visa process, she added.

Meanwhile, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will come up with myUSCIS organisational accounts that will permit numerous people within an organisation, along with their legal representatives, to team up and prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions and any associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

A new organisational account would be required to take part in the H-1B Electronic Registration Process starting in March 2024, the USCIS said.

"We are working expeditiously to address any technical issues that may arise for legal representatives whose accounts migrated when they logged into their online account on or after February 14, 2024, including impacts on cases other than H-1B filings," it said.

The initial registration period for FY 2025 H-1B cap will begin at noon Eastern on March 6, and run through noon Eastern on March 22.

"In March, we will launch online filing of Form I-129 and associated Form I-907 for non-cap H-1B petitions. On April 1, USCIS will begin accepting online filing for H-1B cap petitions and associated Forms I-907 for petitioners whose registrations have been selected,” the federal agency said.