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ARTICLE · 19 DECEMBER 2016

New High-Skilled Worker Final Rule

Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published a final rule − "Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers"...

United StatesImmigration
Susan Karlovich
Susan Karlovich
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published a final rule − "Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers" − to improve employment-based, nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs. Amended regulations will enable employers to retain highly skilled workers who are beneficiaries of approved immigrant visa petitions, but are not able to obtain permanent residency for 8–10 years due to crushing backlogs caused by per-country, annual limits on green cards. The new regulation will benefit workers from over-subscribed countries, namely India, China and the Philippines. "High-skilled workers" include H-1B, L-1, H-1B1, O-1 or E-3 visa holders.

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