Market research analysts are eligible for H-1B visa, US court rules

A federal court in the US has ordered that the job of a market research analyst is eligible to qualify through the H-1B visa route.

After the federal court’s decision, employers in the US will be allowed to hire market research analysts through the visa route.

Earlier, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had ruled that the job of a market research analyst does not come under the ambit of H-1B visa.

It had justified its decision to exclude the job of a market analyst by citing the Occupational Outlook Handbook which has records of hundreds of occupations in the US, PTI reported.

The decision assumes significance for countries like India, China and others which are major beneficiaries of the H-1B visa route.

A large number of IT professionals and other highly skilled professionals from these countries immigrate to the US resorting to the H-1B visa route.

After the federal court’s decision, the USCIS will have to re-look and re-assess the H-1B petitions filed by various US-based companies wanting to hire foreign workforce for the role of a market analyst, reports said.

Leslie K Dellon, who is a senior attorney (business immigration) at the American Immigration Council told PTI that the court’s decision is another chance for the US-based companies and foreign employees they wish to hire through the H-1B visa route.

Jeff Joseph, partner at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP has said that the settlement has now resolved the issue for which immigration lawyers had locked horns with the government for last so many years.

The decision of the federal court came as a result of several organisations which had petitioned the court to look into the matter including American Immigration Council, American Immigration Lawyers Association, law firms Van Der Hout LLP, Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (formerly Joseph & Hall P.C.) among others.

These organisations had opposed the decision of the USCIS which had earlier ruled out issuing H-1B visas to people of foreign origin hired by US firms to work as a market research analyst.