United States

Trump Administration Policy Alters H-1B Renewal Process

There is no longer a fast-track renewal process for the visa program, which grants roughly 65,000 visas every year

A Trump administration policy change could make the renewal process for H-1B visas more time consuming and complicated.

Those seeking to renew their H-1B visa, which allows skilled workers from outside of the country to work in the United States for a certain period of time, will now face the same level of requirements for a renewal as they did for their initial application, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Visa holders seeking renewal will need to have a job with a sponsoring company, copy of their passport, proof of degree with transcripts, and a letter of current and previous employment.

There is no longer a fast-track renewal process for the visa program, which grants roughly 65,000 visas every year.

San Francisco Bay Area companies such as Google and Apple depend on the H-1B visa program to acquire highly-skilled workers from out of the country.

President Donald Trump in April signed an order that asked the government to propose new rules and changes that would stop what he called abuses in the visa program used by U.S. technology companies. 

"We are going to defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put America first," Trump declared at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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