ASCP Raises Concern about USCIS H-1B Visa Proposal

• ASCP opposed the agency’s salary-weighted visa selection process
• The proposal would worsen personnel shortages and could adversely impact patient care

On November 24, ASCP urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) not to adopt its proposal to create a salary-weighted H-1B visa selection process. Currently, USCIS uses a lottery system to award the 85,000 H-1B visas available each year.

Under the USCIS proposal, individuals with higher salary offers within their profession would be more likely to secure a visa. As individuals who are just beginning their careers typically earn less than individuals with more experience, pathologists and laboratory professionals who have recently completed their training programs would have a much harder time securing an H-1B visa to work temporarily in the United States.

ASCP opposed the proposal, arguing that it “would exacerbate the shortages of pathologist and laboratory professionals.” ASCP also noted that the USCIS proposal fails to reflect Congress’s intent that the H-1B program help address labor shortages in specialized, high-skilled fields, such as healthcare.

The H-1B visas is a temporary, non-resident visa (meaning it does not confer citizenship) for skilled professionals (generally individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree).