ITServe Alliance, an association formed by IT companies, many of which are founded by Indians has filed a lawsuit against the costly H-1B visa policy.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services starting 2015 requires employers to file amended applications for H-1B visas when their employees have to work in a new geographical area. This has according to a new study by the NFAP, increased the costs borne by employers by more than 3 billion dollars since the inception of the new policy.
The IT-companies alliance believes that the policy has unlawfully increased the costs of the applications and have caused issues while carrying out business.
The plaintiffs' lawyer told Forbes that the amendment was created without any opportunity to respond and that the lawsuit is to end "an illegal process that is costly to business." Before 2015, there was no such requirement if the employer has already obtained a new LCA (Labor condition application) from the Department of Labor.
They believe that even if an amendment states Congress gave the Department of Labor to enforce H1 statute and not the USCIS, they believe it is unfair that an informal adjudication in Matter of Simeio, a case where the Administrative Appeals Office imposed a new policy which itself the plaintiffs consider a violation, is being used as a binding rule.
The plaintiffs claim that the policy was introduced without any jurisdiction or justification. It has caused inconvenience both financially and administratively and should be deemed void.
If the lawsuit is successful and case is decided in favour of the ITServe alliance, it would save them millions of dollars a year, the Forbes reported.
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