Tech Industry

2018 Employment-Based Immigration Overview and Likely Impacts on U.S. Businesses by Timothy Bakken

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A series of articles nicely describes the current state of the employment-based immigration environment in the U.S., the outlook for 2018, and responses from U.S. high tech businesses and employees.

First, requests for additional evidence and denials of H-1B Petition are at an all-time high. In fact, the CIS denied more than twice as many H-1B petitions in November 2017 compared to the same time last year. Second, Bloomberg summarizes expected trends in employment-based immigration in 2018, including increased enforcement and increased scrutiny of all immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions filed by U.S. employers. Finally, U.S. tech companies are increasingly looking to Canada as a base of operations due to Canada’s more welcoming and more easily navigable employment-based immigration system. 

Timothy R. Bakken
Founder