U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday announced the suspension of expedited processing for the H-1B visa, a temporary residency option for graduate-level workers in STEM fields including mathematics, medicine, and computer science. The agency regularly suspends quick processing for a few weeks to deal with application backlogs, but the length of this suspension is unusual.
The visa program is particularly popular among tech firms in the San Francisco Bay Area, where foreign workers often stay three to six years in computer engineering positions. The fast processing suspension will begin April 3 and last for up to six months, affecting applications for 2018 visas.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What to know when planning an awe-inspiring hike on the Inca TrailThe Week Recommends Peru's most famous trail leads to Machu Picchu
-
Lead poisoning remains a threatThe Explainer The toxin is built into our lives
-
Should you use a 529 plan? What to know about this college savings option.The Explainer This tax-advantaged savings account can be used to pay tuition or buy textbooks
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
