H-1B ‘speciality’ visas can be granted to computer programmers, says American court

A recent decision by the US appellate court (referred to as ninth circuit) is a resounding victory for IT companies that seek to sponsor computer programmers for H-1B visas. The ninth circuit has deemed as arbitrary and capricious a decision of the US citizenship and immigration services, which had held that computer programmers are not entitled to H-1B ‘speciality’ occupation visas. USCIS had in 2017 rescinded an earlier policy memo, which recognised the position of computer programmers as a ‘speciality’ occupation and thus eligible for H-1B visas.