Hello, everybody. In this video, we're going to talk about the H1B final rule,
big changes to the H1B lottery system. This is actually one of the biggest changes
to the H1B system since last year since they started doing the online registration. So,
we'll talk about what do the changes mean, who is going to be impacted by this change,
and when it's going to take effect. Remember that we are now in January, and the H1B season
is going to start very soon, in March. So, these are really important updates for those of you
that are going through the H1B visa process or thinking about it. It's important for you
to watch until the end as we go through each one of these changes and when they will take effect.
Welcome back to our immigration channel. This is where we get the most recent updates on
immigration news, immigration changes, and keeping you updated to make your immigration journey much
easier and less stressful. So, let's talk about the H1B changes, specifically, a major overhaul
of the entire H1B lottery system. The final rule is called modification of registration requirement
for petitioners seeking to file H1B cap cases. And the purpose of this rule is to modify the H1B cap
selection process, amend and change the current H1B lottery procedures. And the biggest change is
in prioritized wages to make sure that H1B visas are issued only to those that are paid the highest
salary, the highest wages. So, we'll break it down exactly how it's going to work. Remember,
according to the USCIS, the new rule will only affect cap-subject H1B cases. This means that
only new H1B cases, they're about to be filed in 2021. It's not applicable to extensions or
people that are currently already on H1B visas and they are filing for renewals or transfers. Those
are not subject to the H1B cap and they're not impacted by the new rule. It will apply
both to the regular H1B cap and to the advanced degree H1B cap and will be effective in 60 days,
which will make it March 9, 2021. The biggest change with this rule is it’s going to create a
wage-based system to select H1B visas, as opposed to the randomized H1B lottery that we experienced
in the past several years. So, how will this new selection process work? USCIS is going to
choose petitions based on the highest occupational employment statistics prevailing wage, also known
as OES. They're going to start with the highest OES wage, as indicated on the individual petition
as it's filed. And those of you that follow the H1B processing and have seen on my videos,
we explained in previous videos that the OES has four wage levels. There's wage level four,
wage level three, wage level two, wage level one. That depends on the skill level, the expertise,
and the job level of the position offered, it will determine the level of the OES wage.
So, in this case, they're going to go with, they're going to start with choosing petitions
that have level four wage level. And they're going to go down in descending order, proceeding with
wage level three, two, and finally, level one. So, the bottom line is that they're going to be using
this sliding scale wage level and they're going to get rid of their H1B lottery altogether. So,
how does this new selection process different from the current system we have right now when
we file for H1B visas every single year? Under the current process, each employer that is interested
to file an H1B visa must submit an electronic registration on behalf of each employee that
they want to file the H1B visa for. This has to be submitted, typically, as of March 1 of the fiscal
year. At the end of the registration period, if an employee is selected, only those employees
that are selected can then proceed and file an H1B visa for their cap season. The idea is that during
the registration process if more applications are being submitted, the USCIS will then conduct a
random lottery, and then select those in the lottery who can proceed and file their H1B
visas later on. That's all going to change after March 9 with a new wage level selection process.
What are some problems we foresee with this new wage-selected system based on these changes? It
seems to me that it's going to be almost virtually impossible for H1B applicants with wage level one
position like newly graduate students, or even some people with level two depending on where
they are in the country to qualify under these new guidelines. That's going to exclude a lot
of people who are just entering the job market, specifically a lot of international students. It's
also going to be excluding a lot of students from being able to transition from their OPT programs
to the job market, especially as our economy is recovering from the pandemic crisis. These changes
are going to block thousands of students from being able to start their first jobs in the US.
Clearly, it’s going to put preference on very, very high skilled workers, that will probably
take the majority of these H1B visas. Startup companies, public schools, younger professionals,
younger medical professionals working in rural areas will also be impacted by this rule because
the salaries are going to be quite low, probably level one or two. And therefore, they're not going
to be able to get the opportunity to get an H1B visa. This is going to be a whole new problem for
prospective employees who want to enter the job market but they're not going to be able to do
so anymore under the H1B visa. And currently, there are no other alternative visas to help
these people become part of our job force. There's a lot of confusion already about the legality of
the rule, and what's going to happen. And I anticipate quite a few lawsuits coming up in
the next few weeks to challenge the legality of this rule because it's going to be devastating.
We're only two months away from the H1B visa season. And hopefully, there's going to be some
sort of an injunction or a way to stop this before we start accepting new H1B cases. What will the
Biden administration do with this rule? Well, it remains to be seen, when Biden takes over,
he's going to have at least 60 more days for this rule to be implemented, and then we'll see what
he's going to do. What we know is that he didn't have a clear policy about the H1B visa. And so,
we're concerned a little bit, that is not going to be a priority for him in the first 100 days. The
Biden administration really has to think carefully about what they're going to do with a regulation
that seems to be illegal on its face and put at disadvantage so many, so many bright, young talent
that is eager to join a workforce. And they may not be able to do so if this rule takes
effect on March 9, 2021. I've been doing H1B visas for many, many years. And in my mind,
this is a very, very bad rule for many reasons. And I mentioned it in the video before.
I think excluding from our workforce so many young talented people is a wrong move right
now. I came to the United States with an H1B visa myself, I was wage level one.
If this rule was in fact when I came here, obviously, I would not be able to get an H1B visa,
and I would not be able to make this video for you right now. So, let's see what happens. I'll
keep you posted. I just want to give you this update out there. Once again, if you're here
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just like you. Thanks for watching, and let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
So, if you like this video, watch these two videos for more information just like this.