Experts Predict Record-Breaking H-1B Visa Demand

Kim Thompson was quoted in SHRM on February 20, 2015. The article “Experts Predict Record-Breaking H-1B Visa Demand” discussed why employers should be well on their way to initiating and preparing their H-1B cap-subject visa petitions for the 2016 fiscal year (FY) deadline, which is now less than two months away.

Kim was quoted on her prediction of the number of H-1B cap-subject visa petitions that will be submitted this year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are over 200,000 petitions this year,” said Kim. Reaching 200,000 petitions would be a record. “It’s been increasing every year, the economy is getting stronger and I think we’ll see a lot of people who were not picked last year resubmitting,” Kim said.

Sometimes the immigration component of workforce planning gets lost and needs to be more of a focus, especially if you’re anticipating needing skill sets that you can’t find in the U.S. workforce, said Thompson. “For example, some clients don’t realize that they have a population of work-authorized F-1 visa students already in their workforce with expiring visas who need to be submitted for the H-1B cap this year,” she said.

 “We’re filing LCAs now for processing, to have them back by the end of February,” said Kim. “Employers should have at least provided the job description and offered rate of pay by now, so we can research the prevailing wage for that position,” she said.

Kim said this step in the process can sometimes trip employers up, as some have been surprised with the prevailing wage finding. “It could be a hard stop if the employer is not willing to increase the offered wage.”

Another early obstacle is not having a DOL-cleared federal employer identification number (FEIN). “If the FEIN has not been cleared or is not accepted when you submit your LCA, you will be denied. Getting clearance is an important initial step and relatively easy for your immigration legal counsel to check,” Kim said.

To read the full article, please visit SHRM.