Thread: 20,000 new H-1B visas coming in March

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pitts ... tory4.html

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS

From the February 25, 2005 print edition

20,000 new H-1B visas coming in March
Applicants still likely to outnumber recipients
Candy Gola

When working visas were issued last October, new applicants didn't have a chance. Instead, every H-1B visa went to one of the backlog of applicants who applied during the early filing period the year before but didn't make the cut.

This has been common for the past couple years, ever since a post-9/11 cap, intended to protect national security, reduced the number of H-1B visas issued nationally by a third.

H-1B visas allow non-U.S. citizens to seek temporary entry into this country to work in "specialty occupations," including positions as accountants, computer analysts, programmers, database administrators, Web designers, engineers, financial analysts, doctors, nurses, scientists, architects and lawyers. From October 2000 to September 2001, 195,000 H-1B visas were issued. The following fiscal years, 65,000 H-1B visas were issued.

"They're snapped up immediately," said Alex Castrodale, immigration lawyer at Cohen & Grigsby, a Downtown firm specializing in immigration law.

But starting March 8, certain provisions of the 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (HR 481 make available an additional 20,000 H-1B visas each fiscal year to aliens who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution.

"When you think of Pitt and CMU, this is ideal for them," Mr. Castrodale said.

But Lisa Krieg, isn't getting her hopes up just yet. As director of the office of international education at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Krieg has been watching this closely but finds it "a little concerning" that some rules haven't been set, such as when the additional 20,000 visas will be effective.

Though she couldn't quote an exact number, she said several hundred foreign students graduate from CMU each year with master's degrees or higher.

"So I think if we have several hundred here alone, the 20,000 will go pretty fast," she said, "and essentially we'll be right back where we are now, in an employment gap."

Ms. Krieg said her office has tried to bridge the gap by making announcements through CMU's Web site about application deadlines, hosting work sessions focused on providing information about the process and counseling students individually.

David Clubb, director of the office of international services at the University of Pittsburgh, is watching this closely too.

While Pitt is a nonprofit and is thus exempt from limitations, visa restrictions are of concern for other reasons, he said.

"As an educational institution that trains and gives advanced degrees, we want our graduates to have the opportunity to enter the U.S. labor market," Mr. Clubb said. "We know a lot of the rankings weigh heavily on where graduates are placed, and we want them placed well."

Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business made it easier for U.S. employers to hire its international students by launching Katzport last year -- a partnership among Katz, Pitt's Office of International Services and Cohen & Grigsby, Katzport is designed to streamline the immigration process for grad students entering the work force.

MS. GOLA may be contacted at clgola@bizjournals.com.

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pitts ... tory4.html

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS

From the February 25, 2005 print edition

20,000 new H-1B visas coming in March
Applicants still likely to outnumber recipients
Candy Gola

When working visas were issued last October, new applicants didn't have a chance. Instead, every H-1B visa went to one of the backlog of applicants who applied during the early filing period the year before but didn't make the cut.

This has been common for the past couple years, ever since a post-9/11 cap, intended to protect national security, reduced the number of H-1B visas issued nationally by a third.

H-1B visas allow non-U.S. citizens to seek temporary entry into this country to work in "specialty occupations," including positions as accountants, computer analysts, programmers, database administrators, Web designers, engineers, financial analysts, doctors, nurses, scientists, architects and lawyers. From October 2000 to September 2001, 195,000 H-1B visas were issued. The following fiscal years, 65,000 H-1B visas were issued.

"They're snapped up immediately," said Alex Castrodale, immigration lawyer at Cohen & Grigsby, a Downtown firm specializing in immigration law.

But starting March 8, certain provisions of the 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (HR 481 make available an additional 20,000 H-1B visas each fiscal year to aliens who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution.

"When you think of Pitt and CMU, this is ideal for them," Mr. Castrodale said.

But Lisa Krieg, isn't getting her hopes up just yet. As director of the office of international education at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Krieg has been watching this closely but finds it "a little concerning" that some rules haven't been set, such as when the additional 20,000 visas will be effective.

Though she couldn't quote an exact number, she said several hundred foreign students graduate from CMU each year with master's degrees or higher.

"So I think if we have several hundred here alone, the 20,000 will go pretty fast," she said, "and essentially we'll be right back where we are now, in an employment gap."

Ms. Krieg said her office has tried to bridge the gap by making announcements through CMU's Web site about application deadlines, hosting work sessions focused on providing information about the process and counseling students individually.

David Clubb, director of the office of international services at the University of Pittsburgh, is watching this closely too.

While Pitt is a nonprofit and is thus exempt from limitations, visa restrictions are of concern for other reasons, he said.

"As an educational institution that trains and gives advanced degrees, we want our graduates to have the opportunity to enter the U.S. labor market," Mr. Clubb said. "We know a lot of the rankings weigh heavily on where graduates are placed, and we want them placed well."

Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business made it easier for U.S. employers to hire its international students by launching Katzport last year -- a partnership among Katz, Pitt's Office of International Services and Cohen & Grigsby, Katzport is designed to streamline the immigration process for grad students entering the work force.

MS. GOLA may be contacted at clgola@bizjournals.com.