The highly anticipated H-1B visa filing season for fiscal 2023–24 will begin on March 1 as the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency accepts applications from skilled foreign workers. It is the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, as a large number of people belonging to technology sectors work in the USA.
The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in places that require technical or theoretical expertise. Many technology companies depend on it so that they can hire tens of thousands of employees from India or China.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it will begin accepting applications between March 1 and March 17 for people specialized in engineering, technology, and medicine to work and live in the country for up to six years.
The people living there after six years will have to have permanent residency or a green card.
“If we receive enough registrations by March 17, we will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. If we do not receive enough registrations, all registrations that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected,” the USCIS said.
“We intend to notify account holders by March 31,” a media release said.
According to the USCIS, it will release additional information in the coming weeks.
The H-1B visas are capped at 85,000 per year, with 20,000 of those set aside for people who have completed their advanced degrees at US institutions.
