In October 2003, the US Government decided to drop the H1-B quota every year until it reaches 60,500 individuals per year. After 9/11, the American economy was greatly affected and unemployment increased. It was decided to reduce the number of H1-B Visas given each year. Members of the National Assembly suggested to completely abolish the H1-B Visa, however it is actually an important contributor to the American economy. It is generally believed that to abolish the H1-B is more of a short-coming than an advantage. The H-1B Visa is a non-immigrant specialized visa. Generally speaking, the beneficiary must have a 4-year university degree in the field which applies to the occupation. They employer is the applicant, who must pay the prevailing wage to the beneficiary. Formerly, H1-B applicants were those primarily in computer related professions. Because of this technical nature, individuals from Taiwan once accounted for a very large proportion of H1-B Visas. Nowadays, individuals from India and China make up most of the population. However, after the new set quota, these numbers will be greatly reduced. All beneficiaries of H1-B visas must go through a pair of face-to-face interviews. As such, the approval procedure is slower. Because of the change in quota, not only are fewer H1-B Visas, they are harder to get as well. Many H1-B Visas already have been issued to individuals, and can be extended to after 3 years of the visa's expiration date. Therefore individuals who hand in the application as soon as possible have more of an advantage for approval. PLEASE NOTE: This web page only for basic reference purposes, it by no means contains legal opinions. In addition, because it has been manually typed, the material accuracy has possibly been affected. This law office is not responsible for the writing on this page.