US introduces changes to H-1B visa process to cut ‘ potential for fraud’

Bengaluru: The United States will introduce a ‘significant change’ to its H-1B visa, which many Indians seek to work in the country, to ‘reduce the potential for fraud,’ The Indian Express reported.

The official website of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said ‘a final rule’ has been added to ‘strengthen the integrity ‘of the process.

The H-1B visa registration procedure includes the first step in procuring the coveted visa.

The new rule says that registrations for H-1B will now be selected by unique beneficiary, not by registration.

To explain further, employers will have to provide valid passport information or valid travel document of each beneficiary during registration, alongside paying $10 fee.

‘This new process is designed to reduce the potential for fraud and ensure each beneficiary would have the same chance of being selected, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf by an employer,’ the USCIS statement read.

It also added that ‘The passport or travel document provided must be the one the beneficiary, if or when abroad, intends to use to enter the United States if issued an H-1B visa. Each beneficiary must only be registered under one passport or travel document’.

Travel documents were previously required only in the later stages of the process.

The new rule, which will come into effect in FY 2025, is aiming at removing multiple entries of the same beneficiary as a ‘lottery process’ picks applicants from the total pool.

‘We’re always looking for ways to bolster integrity and curtail the potential for fraud while improving and streamlining our application processes,’ USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou said.

Registration for the 2025 H-1B visa is to begin at 12 pm EST on March 6, 2024, and continue till 12 pm EST on March 22, 2024.