Policy Memorandum: Change in H-1B Guidance for Computer Programmers

On March 31, 2017, USCIS released a policy memorandum regarding H-1B petitions for those in computer programming positions. The subject of the memorandum was "Rescission of the December 22, 2000 "Guidance memo on H1B computer related positions." The 2017 memorandum supersedes the 2000 memorandum. Also, the memo applies to all U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees, and is effective immediately.

What is the purpose of the new policy memorandum?

The previous memorandum is being rescinded to prevent inconsistencies in H-1B adjudications between different service centers. The previous memorandum also did not computer-related occupations as they exist today. This is partly due to technology greatly advancing since the writing of the 2000 memorandum. The 2000 memo was also not very precise. The 2000 memo, for example, described all computer programmers as doing the same job of writing and testing computer code, while this is not necessarily true.

The 2017 memorandum is intended for the use and training of USCIS employees in performing their adjudication duties.

The full policy memorandum, published on March 31, 2017 by USCIS, can be found here.