Ukrainians eligible to apply for special H-1B visas to U.S. (11/12/00)

Ukrainians eligible to apply for special H-1B visas to U.S.

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - In response to a shortage of skilled workers in the tight U.S. labor market, Congress has increased the quota of immigrants allowed to enter the United States for employment in the fiscal years 2001-2003.

Deborah Irvin, deputy consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Kyiv, said on October 25 that with the new fiscal year, which began on October 1, up to 195,000 highly skilled foreign college graduates would be allowed to enter the country on temporary work visas after U.S. employers have accepted them.

In 1999 the Congress limited the number of temporary work visas for such specialists, called H-1B visas, to 115,000, all of whom were gulped up by mid-year by U.S. employers. The increase in the quota is a recognition on the part of Congress that businesses are facing increasingly critical manpower shortages, particularly in computer fields, in an economy that is in its ninth year of expansion and not letting up.

Ms. Irvin said about 600 Ukrainians received the H-1B visa to work in the United States last year. She explained that the temporary worker visa is not divvied up per country, but is extended through U.S. employers on a first-come-first-serve basis. The key, she emphasized, is that the applicants must show a university degree or college-level expertise in the specialty for which they are being hired by the U.S. business.

Ms. Irvin also explained that the foreign worker, whose status in the United States will be temporary, does not need to prove that he is not an intending immigrant as he would if he were applying for a tourist or business visa.

The process for obtaining an H-1B visa begins with the United States employer, who first must advertise a job opening to assure that no U.S. citizen is available to fill the position. The employer must normally obtain certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that no U.S. worker is available to fill the job.

The employer then submits the name of the qualified foreign worker he is intending to hire to the U.S. Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for a determination whether the person's capabilities and education meet the necessary qualifications and other possible requirements. Prior to that, however, the employer must submit documentation to the Department of Labor that the salary that will be offered will not undercut the labor market and will maintain the prevailing wage.

Only after these steps are completed does the applicant become involved in the process, when he is called to the U.S. Consulate in his country for a visa interview. Consular officers are responsibile for ascertaining that the intending immigrant meets the requirements and skills needed for the job and that he is not defrauding the U.S. government. They have the right to return the petition to the INS to ask it to reconsider the case.

Employers must pay a $1,000 fee for each H-1B application; these funds are used to generate $150 million a year for scholarships for U.S. students. Most H-1B visas go to persons with computer-related skills, but about 40 percent go to others, such as architects, engineers, university professors and fashion models.

While H-1B visas are in great demand and draw foreign nationals into the United States from all parts of the world, The New York Times reported last month that individuals should note that most visas of this type are granted to people already staying in the United States on other types of visas. By and large, those who obtain them are foreign students studying in the United States or recently graduated from American universities.

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