New rule modernizes, strengthens H-1B Visa program
The Department of Homeland Security has announced a final rule to modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B program.
Published: December 20, 2024 | by Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP, Legal Editor at Brightmine
Employers should expect and prepare for potential disruption of H-1B visa case processing and adjudication after a new H-1B rule goes into effect on January 17, 2025.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a final rule to modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B program, add benefits and flexibilities and improve integrity measures.
The amendments include:
- A revised definition of the H-1B specialty occupation;
- Strengthened cap gap protections for F-1 students awaiting a change of status to H-1B;
- Strengthened site visit authority for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS);
- Clarification of the processes and requirements for amending nonimmigrant petitions; and
- Codification of the agency’s longstanding policy of deference to its prior approvals.
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations – defined as occupations that require highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s or higher degree (or its equivalent) in the specialty.
In announcing the final rule, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “These improvements to the program provide employers with greater flexibility to hire global talent, boost our economic competitiveness, and allow highly skilled workers to continue to advance American innovation.”
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About the author
Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP
Legal Editor, Brightmine
Robert Teachout has more than 30 years’ experience in legal publishing covering employment laws on the state and federal level. At Brightmine, he covers labor relations, performance appraisals and promotions, succession and workforce planning, HR professional development and employment contracts. He often writes on the intersection of compliance with HR strategy and practice.
Before joining Brightmine, Robert was a senior HR editor at Thompson Information Services, covering FMLA, ADA, EEO issues and federal and state leave laws. Prior to that he was the primary editor of Bloomberg BNA’s State Labor Laws binders and was the principal writer and editor of the State Wage Assignment and Garnishment Handbook. Robert also served as a union unit leader and shop steward in the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild of the Communications Workers of America. Actively involved in the HR profession, Robert is a member of SHRM at both the national and local levels, and gives back to the profession by serving as the communications vice president on the board of his local chapter.