Can you hear the H(uge)-1B sigh of relief?

We had previously written about the overhaul of the U.S. H-1B visa program and summarized some of the new regulations. However, federal Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court in Oakland has since undone those Department of Labor and Homeland Security efforts by ruling that the government had not shown good cause for imposing the rules without notice or opportunities for public comment.

According to our friends at Envoy Global, this ruling should prevent the tightening of eligibility requirements and the increased minimum salaries that were set on foreign workers on high-skilled work visas.

According to The Mercury News, this ruling comes in response to a lawsuit from The Bay Area Council, Stanford University, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and other groups that argued that the rules would gut the H-1B program and be disastrous for the economy and post-pandemic recovery. 

As many of our clients rely heavily on the H-1B program, we could hear the collective sign of relief. These companies have experienced increased denials of the visa for staffing. However, they are dependent on having talent that comes from other countries, and these denials and suggested changes to the program make it much harder to compete and secure the best talent in the world, which fuels many of the leading and fastest-growing tech companies. In fact, most tech companies would prefer to expand the annual cap of 85,000 new H-1B visas that exists today.

For more posts on immigration, try these:

• Looking at the future of immigration into the U.S. and the potential impact on global mobility programs
• What should employees do if immigration authorities knock at their door?

Also, for further elaboration on the recent court decision, check out this article from Worldwide ERC: DHS and DOL Rules That Restrict H-1B Visas Struck Down