U.S. suspends fast processing of high-tech H-1B visa applications

Foreigners aiming fortemporary jobs at high-tech U.S. companies will undergo a longervisa approval process after the Trump administration announcedit will temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1Bvisas.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) saidon Friday that starting April 3 it will suspend "premiumprocessing" for up to six months. Under this expeditedprocedure, applicants can be eligible for visa approvals within15 days, instead of a regular review period that can last for upto a few months.

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The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows U.S. companies to employ graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics.

USCIS said that during the suspension period, individualsstill can request expedited consideration, but must meet certaincriteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situationor the prospect of severe financial loss to a company orindividual.

The United States currently caps H-1B visas at 65,000 ayear, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who haveearned advanced college degrees in the United States.

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The visa is valid for three years but can be extended for anadditional three years.

The agency said that suspending premium processing willallow it to reduce a backlog of long-pending visa petitions andthus reduce overall H-1B processing times.

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The move comes as the Trump administration also has been implementing tougher deportation procedures against illegal immigrants in the United States and has attempted to impose a visa ban on people from seven primarily Muslim countries. That ban was put on hold by a federal court.

The administration says the H-1Bis being exploited by outsourcing companies who use it to bring in low-cost foreign workers.

U.S. President Donald Trump campaigned last year on a promise tocrack down on immigrants who he said were taking jobs from U.S.citizens.