Economy

H-1B Visa Applications Up For Review

By Gina Diamante / News Editor, Jean Guerrero / Investigative Reporter

Published April 8, 2015 at 11:55 AM PDT

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received more than enough applications to reach the 65,000 cap on H-1B visas offered to foreign workers with skills in math, science and similar specialty fields.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not saying how many petitions it got since it started accepting them last week. The filing period ended April 7.

The agency said it has also received more than enough applications to reach the 20,000 cap for an advanced degree exemption. The exemption is offered to immigrants with advanced degrees from U.S. schools.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is now planning a lottery to decide which applications it will review. A date for the lottery has not been set. San Diego immigration lawyer Nikki Weil estimated that less than half of all applications will be reviewed.

Department of Labor statistics show last year, more than 700 San Diego companies applied for about 4,800 H-1B visas. Many of the applications came from San Diego-based Qualcomm. Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, said there isn't enough local talent to meet the needs of local businesses. Companies are lobbying to raise the H-1B limit.

Economy

Gina Diamante

Gina Diamante came to KPBS in 2011 to launch KPBS Evening Edition. She has managed the newsroom’s participation in collaborative efforts with other public media outlets, including the Local Journalism Center Video Project and the Global Nation Education Project. In 2015, Gina was awarded an Emmy by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for producing the KPBS news special “Remembering The Fall Of Saigon.” Her work has also been recognized by the San Diego Press Club, the San Diego League of Women Voters, San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association, and the Associated Press Radio-Television Association. Prior to joining KPBS, Gina served as news director and Morning Edition host at KVCR-FM, the NPR member station in San Bernardino. Gina has also been a writer, reporter, anchor, producer and news director at stations in Monterey, San Diego, Ventura County, Los Angeles, and Temecula. She is a graduate of the School of Journalism at San Jose State University.

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Jean Guerrero

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Jean Guerrero is an award-winning reporter with more than eight years of experience covering Latin America. Jean is currently on leave from KPBS to write a book. Her KPBS reporting on family separations at the border, Trump's wall, deportations, migrant caravan, and more has been repeatedly recognized by the San Diego Press Club, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - Pacific Southwest Chapter, and the Society for Professional Journalists, including "Best Body Of Work" in 2018. She started her career at the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in Mexico City as a foreign correspondent. She won the PEN/FUSION Emerging Writers Prize in 2016. Her book "Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir" was published in 2018 by One World (Random House). Jean was born and raised in San Diego, holds a B.A. in journalism and a minor in neuroscience from the University of Southern California. She also has an MFA degree in creative nonfiction from Goucher College.

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