Gaming the H1-B Lottery

Today from the WSJ: U.S. Firms, Workers Try to Beat H-1B Visa Lottery System.

As we all know, the H1B is one of the most coveted nonimmigrant visas. In many years, the total number of visas issuable for the fiscal year will be apportioned within a matter of days. This year, the USCIS received more applications for visas than it had visas to issue by the opening date (April 1) and had to apportion visas by lottery.

To get a sense of the demand for visas, check out this handy chart from the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Today’s WSJ article deals with how employers and employees are gaming this competitive system. The answer, it appears, is rather simple. Employers are filing multiple (4-5) applications for a single employee. And employees are accepting jobs with multiple employers, having each employer file an H1B application on their behalf.

Immprof Stephen Yale-Loehr is quoted in the piece, saying: “Some companies are being creative, within the boundaries of ambiguous regulations, to maximize their chances of winning the lottery.” Greg McCall, a Seattle-based immigration attorney, said filing multiple applications for a single individual is becoming “a best practice.”

A USCIS spokesperson confirmed that there is “no prohibition” against filing multiple applications.

Without a doubt, this practice inures to the benefit of larger companies who can afford to file multiple applications on behalf of a single employee. Of course, it also benefits the saavy and desirable employee who can manage to convince multiple potential employers to file on their behalf.

-KitJ