The Donald Trump administration has clarified that the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas does not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment only for new petitions.
Trump is confident the US will eventually emerge the winner from whatever turmoil his policies cause, notes T T Ram Mohan.
'Trump has signaled that he has changed his stance on the H1B visa from his first term.'
Trump said in his remarks at the unveiling of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aircraft.
India's software industry mounts two-pronged campaign to tackle Trump administration. Ayan Pramanik & Karan Choudhury report.
A Green Card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is a document issued to immigrants as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.
The proposals aims to impose new restrictions to prevent abuse and misuse of H-1B visas, besides ending the provision of granting extension for those who already have a green card.
International companies usually store data on global servers and the requirement to store data locally would require them to make an additional investment. But policymakers in India believe storing data locally would help monitor and conduct investigations if the need arises.
He said his administration is going to enforce 'Hire American' rules that are designed to protect jobs and wages of workers in the United States.
'If you are so blinded by the Buy American, Hire American policy, if you are not going to be fair, consistent and welcoming, in the end America will lose out.'
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha that this is an issue of concern not just for the government and the Opposition, but the entire House and the nation shares this concern
Trump told reporters that his administration will not tolerate firing of hardworking Americans in pursuit of cheap foreign labour.
While the denial rate has dropped slightly to 21 per cent in 2019 from 24 per cent in 2018, the National Foundation for American Policy has said it is much higher for Indian IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro and very low for American companies like Amazon and Google. For instance, the denial rate for TCS and Infosys in 2019 was 31 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, whereas for Wipro it was 47 per cent and 37 per cent for Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, the denial rate for the new H-1B petitions in 2019 was just four per cent each for Amazon and Google. The denial rate for Microsoft during the same period was six per cent, and Facebook along with Walmart was just three per cent each.
Reflecting the mood of the Silicon Valley, prominent media outlets from California have come out openly in support of the H-1B work visas and opposed increasing the "hire Americans" call in the United States.
"Thanks to the profound commitment of our citizens, we have flattened the curve and countless American lives have been saved. Our country is now in the next stage of the battle. A very safe, phased and gradual reopening of our country," Trump said.
Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar discusses the ramifications of Trump's 'Buy American-hire American' agenda with Raghu Krishnan.
This provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6-year limit.
"Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorisation," said the US department of homeland security's unified agenda in the federal register notification of its semi-annual regulatory agenda.
It's not just wrong. It's dumb. Mr President, would America really be greater without us?" he asked in a tweet.
In the past five years, the US has seen nearly two dozen Bills on employment visas introduced without success. But this time it is different, industry sources tell Ayan Pramanik.
After being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, in his inaugural address, vowed to fight for the 'forgotten' Americans.
From reiterating his commitment to build the border wall to protecting the American way of life from terrorist threats, President Donald Trump outlined his vision for the United States of America
The H-1B issue specifically did not figure in the talks, with Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar telling reporters that there was a lot of discussion with business leaders and the two leaders about the digital partnership when asked about whether H-1B visa issue figured in the talks.
Firm's dented image following Sikka's exit could bring down revenues in the margin rich US market and force Infy to hire fewer Americans, as hiring locals in developed markets comes at a cost.
Lower numbers signal that that companies, especially the technology services firms, are steadily reducing the dependency on non-immigrant visas.
The company hires postgraduate and PhD students from A+ grade institutes to be part of its research team.
Extensions of H-1B visas have become even tougher, in particular if the employee has been on a bench for any part of their previous duration.
IT professionals from India and major Indian IT companies are major beneficiary of H-1B.
5 other politically-charged fashion choices in recent times.
H-1B workers have minimal skills, says Infosys whistleblower
Ayan Pramanik and Shivani Shinde Nadhe report on the uncertainties that have dragged down shares of TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies.
"In terms of local taxes, in terms of local small business productivity, local large business competitiveness, their educational outcomes, their entrepreneurial work, that's what matters," the Microsoft CEO said.
The 'H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2016' introduced by Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell from New Jersey and Republican Dana Rohrabacher from California would prohibit companies from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people
The USCIS announcement indicated that the US government is going to be tough and stringent in approval of H-1B visas this year.
The challenges before the IT industry are many and its response over the coming months will shape the future of what has been one of the most vibrant value-creating and livelihood-enabling sectors.
Trump to sign an executive order aimed at achieving a more skills-based and merit-based immigration system.
Amid Trump's expected action against employment visas, India's bellwether IT firms reveal they have been preparing for this eventuality for years.
'If jobs do not happen, the demographic dividend we have will become a demographic disaster.'
Trump, 70, took the oath of office in front of about 800,000 people who braved chilly weather to gather on the National Mall in the center of the capital to celebrate the rank political outsider, who defied all odds to defeat political heavyweight Hillary Clinton in the November polls.
The founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition first attracted attention in the US as the "Punjabi tycoon" who was a huge supporter of Narendra Modi in the US. 'He will be best for India. There is no better ally for the US than India in the region,' Shalabh Kumar tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
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