The Biden administration announced a new rule Tuesday clarifying who can apply for an H-1B work visa, a key program to attract international talent that’s been criticized as too complicated and susceptible to abuse.

The new rule expands the definitions of specialty occupation positions and spells out the requirements for nonprofit and governmental research organizations to sponsor H-1B visas.

“The H-1B program was created by Congress in 1990, and there’s no question it needed to be modernized to support our nation’s growing economy,” said United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou. “The changes made in today’s final rule will ensure that U.S. employers can hire the highly skilled workers they need to grow and innovate while enhancing the integrity of the program.”

The changes follow years of lobbying for a more streamlined H-1B, the workhorse of labor-related visas.

Earlier this month, Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) petitioned the Biden administration to address a series of gaps in the immigration system in preparation for the incoming Trump administration’s announced crackdown on........

© The Hill