Companies stare down $100,000 fee with new H-1B visa rules

"For the first time, successful sponsors for immigrants arriving from another country will need to pay a $100,000 fee. And the system will now favor more experienced and higher paid workers, rules likely to disadvantage IT consulting firms that won an outsize share of the visas in recent years."

"Outsourcing and placement firms have recently been among the biggest users of the H-1B program. Those companies, including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd. and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., developed a lucrative niche recruiting programmers and other technology professionals from abroad and placing them with US clients in industries including finance and healthcare."

"staffing firms are likely to balk at the $100,000 fee for workers from overseas, so that should free up slots for employers in tech and finance better able to absorb the cost."

The H-1B visa system for skilled immigrants undergoes its most significant overhaul in decades, effective this month. New rules require sponsors to pay a $100,000 fee for successful applicants and shift preferences toward more experienced and higher-paid workers. These changes are expected to reduce participation from outsourcing and staffing firms like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Cognizant, which have dominated the program by recruiting technology professionals abroad for placement with US clients. The modifications aim to address concerns from labor advocates and lawmakers who argue staffing firms suppress wages and limit opportunities for American workers. With approximately 85,000 slots available and historically one-third of petitioners succeeding, employers and staffing firms are strategizing to navigate the new requirements.

Read at www.mercurynews.com