Image Source: AGENCIES

29-04-2023
WATSUPPTODAY DESK

There are "serious concerns" that some people are abusing the system to obtain an unfair advantage, according to officials, as the number of visa applications for those employed in the technology sector increased for a second consecutive year. In this year's computer-generated lottery for H-1B visas, there were 780,884 applications, up 61 percent from 483,927 applications in the prior year, US Citizenship and Immigration Services reported in a statement to "stakeholders." The number of applications received last year was up 57% from 308,613 the year before. Each year, up to 85,000 people are selected for H-1B visas, a mainstay for technology giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. Last year, the government began requiring workers who won the lottery to sign affidavits stating they didn't try to game the system by working with others to file multiple bids under different company names, even if there was no underlying employment offer By winning at least once, these companies could market their services to technology companies that wanted to fill positions but didn't have visas, effectively becoming labour contractors. “The large number of eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple eligible registrations — much larger than in previous years — has raised serious concerns that some may have tried to gain an unfair advantage by working together to submit multiple registrations on behalf of the same beneficiary. This may have unfairly increased their chances of selection,” the agency wrote. The agency said it has “undertaken extensive fraud investigations” based on lottery submissions from the last two years, denied some petitions and is “in the process” of referring some cases to federal prosecutors for possible crimes. The number of registrations tied to people who applied more than once rose to 408,891 this year from 165,180 last year and 90,143 the year before. "We remain committed to deterring and preventing abuse of the registration process, and to ensuring only those who follow the law are eligible to file an H-1B cap petition," the agency said. H-1B visas, which are used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, have been a lightning rod in the immigration debate, with critics saying they are used to undercut US citizens and legal permanent residents. They are issued for three years and can be extended another three years. Technology companies say H-1Bs are critical for hard-to-fill positions even as they have had to lay off workers in other areas.As the number of applications have soared in the last two years, major companies have seen winning lottery submissions dwindle. Andrew Greenfield, a partner at the law firm Fragomen, which represents major technology companies, said the increase in applications is “bizarre” given widespread layoffs in the industry. His clients had a roughly 15 per cent success rate on lottery entries this year, down from about 30 per cent last year. “It's devastating,” Greenfield said. “Our clients are legitimate employers that are just unable to source enough talent in the United States to fill all their hiring needs.” Fraud, as outlined by US authorities, may be driving up applications, with companies under different names but the same ownership submitting entries on behalf of the same person, Greenfield said, but there may be other reasons. Some applicants may convince different, independently-owned companies to sponsor them in the lottery, which is perfectly legal. Some companies may overestimate their labour demands when they enter the lottery in March. For the 85,000 seats, the computer-generated lottery in March chose 110,791 winners. Employers must declare their intent to proceed with recruiting by June 30. In order to fill any open spaces, the government may organise another lottery if confirmations are less than 85,000.