Phil Bolton for GlobalAtlanta
Georgia employers should file applications on behalf of foreign-skilled workers now before the current quota is filled, Karen Weinstock, an Atlanta immigration attorney, told GlobalAtlanta last week.
Ms. Weinstock, a partner in the law firm of Siskind Susser, said that there are only about 15,000 H-1B visas left for fiscal year 2007, which begins Oct. 1. She added that she anticipates the 15,000 visas left will “probably run out in the next couple of weeks or so.”
Although Congress has mandated 65,000 per fiscal year, the number for fiscal 2007 is actually 60,000 because 5,000 are reserved for Chilean and Singaporean nationals under U.S. free trade agreements with their countries.
Last week the U.S. Senate passed an immigration bill that would dramatically increase the number of H-1B visas available annually. The Senate bill, however, must be reconciled with proposed legislation of the House of Representatives.
Ms. Weinstock is the editor of Siskind Susser’s Visalaw Health Care Immigration Newsletter. She is in the process of writing a book about the H-1B visa program.
She may be reached by email at kweinstock@visalaw.com.