Difference between revisions of "Timeline of H-1B"

| 1952 || June 27 || Legislation || {{w|Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952}} || {{w|82nd United States Congress}}, President {{w|Harry S. Truman}} (vetoed but overridden) || || || || || Created the H-1 and H-2 visa categories for skilled and unskilled workers; the H-1 would give rise to the modern H-1B visa.

| 1990 || November 29 || Legislation || {{w|Immigration Act of 1990}} || {{w|101st United States Congress}}, President {{w|George H. W. Bush}} || Only a base filing fee || Set an annual cap of 65,000 on new 3-year H-1Bs, including transfer applications and extensions of stay. || Set up the basic rules for the {{w|Labor Condition Application}} || Defined adjudication process || The old H-1 visa is split into the {{w|H-1A visa}} for nurses (which would be discontinued and replaced by the {{w|H-1C visa}}, which would also be discontinued) and the H-1B visa. Additionally, the Immigration Act of 1990 also creates the employment-based (EB) immigration category for permanent immigration. The H-1B and EB would play an important symbiotic role.

| 1998 || October 21 || Legislation || {{w|American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act}} (ACWIA) || {{w|105th United States Congress}}, President {{w|Bill Clinton}} || Additional $500 fee to train U.S. workers to reduce the shortage of skilled workers, and therefore reduce the need for H-1B || Temporary increase in caps to 115,000 for 1999 and 2000 || Introduces the concept of {{w|H-1B-dependent employer}} and required additional attestations about non-displacement of U.S. workers from employers who were H-1B-dependent or had committed a willful misrepresentation in an application in the recent past. Also gives investigative authority to the {{w|United States Department of Labor}} || The legislation is mostly a victory for restrictionists and labor advocates, with the main concession to expansionists being the temporary quota increase

| 2000 || October 17 || Legislation || {{w|American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act}} (AC21) || {{w|106th United States Congress}}, President {{w|Bill Clinton}} || Increase of fee for training U.S. workers from $500 to $1000 || Increase in caps to 195,000 for Fiscal Years 2001, 2002, and 2003.<br/>Creation of an uncapped category for non-profit research institutions.<br/>Exemption from the cap for people who had already been cap-subject. This includes people on cap-subject H-1Bs who are switching jobs, as well as people applying for a 3-year extension of their current 3-year H-1B. Also, people with pending green card applications on EB-1,2,3 statuses can keep extending their H-1B (without being cap-subject) while waiting || The legislation paves the way for a significant ''de facto'' expansion of the H-1B program, despite no permanent increase in the annual cap.

| 2004 || December 6 || Legislation || {{w|H-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004}}, part of the {{w|Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005}} || {{w|108th United States Congress}}, President {{w|George W. Bush}} || Increase of fee for retraining US workers to $1500 for companies with 26 or more employees, reduction to $750 for small companies. Addition of anti-fraud fee of $500 || Bachelor's degree cap returns to 65,000 with added 20,000 visas for applicants with U.S. postgraduate degrees. Additional exemptions for non-profit research and governmental entities. || Expands the Department of Labor's investigative authority, but also provides two standard lines of defense to employers (the Good Faith Compliance Defense and the Recognized Industry Standards Defense). ||

| 2009 || February 17 || Legislation || {{w|Employ American Workers Act}}, part of the {{w|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009}} || {{w|111th United States Congress}}, President {{w|Barack Obama}} || No change || No change || All recipients of {{w|Troubled Asset Relief Program}} (TARP) or Federal Reserve Act Section 13 were required to file the additional attestations required of H-1B-dependent employers, for any employee who had not yet started on a H-1B visa. || Sunset after two years, on February 17, 2011.

| 2010 || August 13 || Legislation || Public Law 111-230 (Section 402) || {{w|111th United States Congress}}, President {{w|Barack Obama}} || Additional fee of $2,000 for employers with more than 50 employees and more than 50% of their workforce either H-1B or L-1 || No change || No change || The fee would apply only to petitions on postmarked on or after August 14, 2010, and until September 30, 2014.<ref name=pl-111-230-teleconference>{{cite web|url = https://www.uscis.gov/outreach/notes-previous-engagements/notes-previous-engagements-topic/policy-and-guidance/teleconference-implementing-public-law-111-230|title = Teleconference: Implementing Public Law 111-230|accessdate = March 28, 2016|publisher = [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]]}}</ref><ref name=uscis-pl-111-230>{{cite web|url = https://www.uscis.gov/archive/archive-news/uscis-implements-h-1b-and-l-1-fee-increase-according-pl-111-230|title = USCIS Implements H-1B and L-1 Fee Increase According to P.L. 111-230|accessdate = March 28, 2016|publisher = [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]]}}</ref> See {{w|H-1B-dependent employer#Additional fees}} for more.

| 2011 || January 2 || Legislation || Public Law 111-347 (Section 302) || {{w|111th United States Congress}}, President {{w|Barack Obama}} || No change || No change || No change || The end date for the increased fees imposed by P.L. 111-230 is extended from September 30, 2014 to September 30, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.uscis.gov/news/public-law-111-230-h-1b-l-1-additional-fees-expire|title = Public Law 111-230 H-1B, L-1 Additional Fees Expire|date = October 5, 2015|accessdate = March 28, 2016|publisher = [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/ilink/docView/PUBLAW/DATAOBJECTS/PL111-347.pdf|title = Public Law 111-347|date = January 2, 2011|accessdate = August 12, 2017|publisher = United States Citizenship and Immigration Services}}</ref>

| 2015 || December 18 || Legislation || Public Law 114-113, part of the {{w|Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016}} || Additional fee of $4,000 for employers with more than 50 employees and more than 50% of their workforce either H-1B or L-1 || No change || No change || This applies to all petitions postmarked on or after December 18, 2015 and until September 30, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/new-law-increases-h-1b-and-l-1-petition-fees|title = New Law Increases H-1B and L-1 Petition Fees|publisher = [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]]|accessdate = March 29, 2016}}</ref><ref name=tribuneindia>{{cite web|url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/indian-it-companies-to-pay-over-8-000-per-h1b-visa/172810.html|title = Indian IT Companies to pay over $8,000 per visa|accessdate = March 29, 2016}}</ref> It replaces a similar $2,000 fee that applied till September 30, 2015. See {{w|H-1B-dependent employer#Additional fees}} for more.