H1B Visa Rejected? You Can Now Re-Submit H1B Visa Application Before This Date

Those applying for H1B visa to work in the United States can now resubmit their applications if they are rejected.

This applies to applications which were rejected because the start date of initial registration period was post Oct 1, 2020.

Details

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in its statement that if someone’s FY 2021 visa petition was “rejected or administratively closed solely because [it] was based on a registration submitted during the initial registration period, but you requested a start date after Oct. 1, 2020, you may re-submit that previously filed petition, with all applicable fees”.

The H1B visa helps American tech companies hire skilled IT professional workers from other countries to fill roles domestic workers cannot. 

The end date to resubmit applications is before Oct 1, 2021.

If it is properly filed, the USCIS will take it into consideration.

Visa Registration Moved Online

The USCIS began an electronic registration process for H1B visa last year. 

Visa hopefuls must register themselves online and then pay the registration fees per beneficiary.

By making the process electronic, the registration process has been streamlined as paperwork and data exchange is reduced. 

Those employers seeking visas for prospective employees also save costs. 

Low Number Of Petitions Received

The number of petitions filed in the initial period was lower than projected.

This was likely because of the economic, political, and public health complications caused by the pandemic. 

Another reason could be that FY 2021 was the first year that the electronic registration system went into effect.

Therefore the USCIS accepted additional registrations in Aug 2020 which were held in reserve to meet its allocated numerical cap.

Explaining the matter, the USCIS said, “Some petitioners indicated a start date after October 1, 2020. We rejected or administratively closed those petitions because they were based on registrations submitted during the initial registration period but indicated a start date after October 1, 2020. Upon reconsideration, we no longer believe that the regulations required us to reject or administratively close those petitions”

The move comes in the backdrop of the US Chambers of Commerce launching a campaign seeking to increase the quota of H1B visa applications.

US Body Seeks To Increase Visa Cap

The campaign seeks to address the acute skilled worker shortage in the States.

The present quota is 65,000 annually and 20,000 for those pursuing higher education.

The America Works campaign also wants to support entrepreneurs in their pursuit of permanent residency so they can scale their business in the U.S. 

In a statement, it said that the campaign wishes to “create a new, geographically targeted visa programme, along the lines of the Heartland Visa proposal, that will drive economic and population growth into American communities struggling with the serious economic and social problems caused by significant population loss”.

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