Louisiana companies rely on both domestic and foreign workers to fill available positions and complete their workforces. Immigrants bring a lot to the table in terms of specialized skills and play an important role in the economy. But increased scrutiny on employment immigration could make an already long process more difficult.
Tech companies frequently use the H-1B visa program to recruit workers for highly specialized job positions. Since the technology industry generally deals with complicated and niche products, it might make sense to look in places other than America when hiring. However, some people believe that large tech companies are not doing enough to hire domestic workers and are instead abusing this particular visa. That misguided belief has resulted in higher denial rates for H-1B petitions from tech companies like IBM and Google. For most of the 2019 fiscal year, 30% of petitions from 12 companies providing IT or professional services were denied.
As 2020 approaches, many people expect obtaining an H-1B visa to get even harder. Companies petitioning for foreign workers will face increased scrutiny and may have to provide even more information than before. On top of this, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to impose a fee for submitting applications. The H-4 EAD spouse is also in trouble as some lawmakers work to end the program that lets spouses of workers with H-1B visas to also work.
Immigration officials are expected to deny even more H-1B visas in 2020. This is not good news for workers with highly specialized skills and the Louisiana companies who rely on them, and it means that getting things right the first time is more important for employment immigration than ever. Before submitting an H-1B visa petition, a company may want to consider asking a knowledgeable attorney to review it.