H-IBI visa still S'poreans' best bet for a US job, despite tighter rules

New hefty surcharge will not affect category, but in-person interviews now a requirement

- Bhagyashree Garekar US Bureau Chief

Singaporean professionals looking to work in the United States have to surmount fresh hurdles to get a US visa after the Trump administration tightened immigration rules, but the move also opens up new opportunities for aspirants.

Under a free trade pact signed with the US in 2004, Singaporeans have enjoyed access to a fast-track, one-year renewable work visa known as the H-1B1.

Unlike the broader H-1B employment-based visa programme, this category is reserved solely for citizens of Singapore and Chile, allowing the issuance of 5,400 and 1,400 visas, respectively, every year. Typically, the visa is used to pursue high-skilled jobs in engineering, medicine and finance, among others.

When the Trump administration imposed a hefty US$100,000 (S$130,000) fee for new H-1B petitions that came into effect on Sept 21, the American embassy in Singapore clarified in a social media post that the H-1B1 category would be unaffected by the surcharge.

Even so, Singaporeans could still feel the pinch for at least two reasons.

First, since Sept 2, a new requirement for in-person interviews at the US embassy has come into effect, eliminating previous waivers for H-1B1 and other non-immigrant visas.

"I expect this requirement to impact the approval rates because if you have an additional layer of screening, you are subjecting people to further scrutiny," said Mr Lin Junwen, a Singaporean immigration attorney based in Los Angeles.

"Performance in the interview is a factor because impressions can be easily formed during the short conversations. This may lead a consular officer to deny a visa."

Since H-1B1 is a non-immigrant visa, applicants must demonstrate strong ties to their home country, such as family bonds and property ownership. Mr Lin said this could become an obstacle for those who have spent a long time working in the US.