'New announcements are made every day which brings tremendous amount of instability and uncertainty.' 'Relying on America has become a big problem.'
The current Federal rules require an H-1B visa holder to leave the US along with family members within 60 days of losing his job. The H-1B visa holders have started a petition campaign on the White House website to extend the timeline for their stay in the US to 180 days after they are being laid off.
'We are only talking about 65,000 H1B visas a year, it is not going to go down drastically.' 'If the number reduces and when you spread that reduction across all the top IT services companies, the impact will be marginal.'
'As Mayor, I will use my platform to reject any efforts by the Trump administration to curtail immigration.'
Officials at a Congressional hearing cited last year's figure of 26 per cent denial to H1B visa applicants, that was the highest in recent years, and also pointed out instances where the visas were denied for flimsy reasons.
The United States on Saturday announced that from April 3 it will temporarily suspend the 'premium processing' of H-1B visas that allowed some companies to jump the queue as part of its efforts to clear the backlog.
Indian information-technology (IT) service providers are likely to report another quarter (July-September) of low, single-digit growth owing to macro uncertainties, chiefly emanating from America, with no respite in sight even in the second half of the year.
With discretionary spending still under pressure, the information technology (IT) services industry continued to face an uncertain demand environment in the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26).
In yet another immigration-friendly move that would benefit thousands of Indian-American women, the Biden administration has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.
As per the new rule, foreigners who file to renew their EAD on or after October 30, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension, the DHS said in a news release.
A Nasscom letter to US senators calls for attention to the fact that there is a considerable body of evidence pointing to the contributions made by H-1B visa holders to innovation and entrepreneurship in the US.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Axis Bank were the major laggards. However, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
'Of course, people will have to carry documents all the time. There is overall uncertainty in living in the US.'
In what could be a cause of worry for Indian IT professionals, two US Senators have introduced amendments to the economic stimulus bill, which if passed would prevent US companies receiving the federal bailout money, from hiring H-1B visa holders.
But there is no unanimity within the Obama Administration on this issue that has the potential to jeopardise the Indo-US business ties.
As large-scale layoffs begin at Facebook's parent company Meta, employees on work visas such as H-1Bs are now faced with uncertainty over their immigration status, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledging "this is especially difficult if you're here on a visa" and offering support to those impacted. Meta announced that it is laying off 11,000 employees or 13 per cent of its workforce, with Zuckerberg describing it as "some of the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history." US-based technology companies hire a large amount of H-1B workers, the majority of whom come from countries such as India.
This is against the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for this year.
Business leaders tell Congress that to attract and retain the best minds, the U.S. must keep the doors open to immigrants
'USCIS has been making arbitrary rules for over eight years, it's our top priority to set things right.'
This move is expected to restrict movement of H-1B visa holders.
Like last year, the agency will receive applications between April 1 and April 5. If the cap is not reached, it will continue to accept applications for five more days.
A trade deal makes sense only if it is fair and reciprocal. If the cost is strategic dependence or loss of policy space, waiting is the wiser option, asserts Ajay Srivastava.
Indian and Indian-American IT businesses are being scapegoated for abuse of the visa programme - using it for cheap, immobile labour - that actually pervades the entire industry.
"To ensure a fair and orderly distribution of available H-1B visas, USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. The USCIS has sent the interim final rule for publication in the Federal Register for it becoming effective.
Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices. However, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys climbed 3.86 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and Tech Mahindra were also among the gainers. However, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
Applications for H-1B visas totalled a record 233,000 for fiscal 2016, according to figures released recently.
As in the previous years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas, which is most popular among IT professionals and companies in IT services.
US to start accepting H-1B petitions from April 1.
The Trump administration is proposing to limit the duration of visas for foreign students and media personnel in the US, potentially impacting their ability to stay in the country.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers of Indian equities in September, withdrawing Rs 23,885 crore (around $2.7 billion) and taking year-to-date outflow to Rs 1.58 lakh crore ($17.6 billion).
Trading sentiment in the equity market will be guided by macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and quarterly earnings from IT major TCS this week, analysts said. Stock markets would also be tracking trading activity of foreign investors who remained net sellers of Indian equities in September.
The Indian IT industry has consistently protested the anti-outsourcing rhetoric of American politicians.
Norman Matloff, professor of computer science at the University of California, Davis, believes that the US has enough highly skilled engineers and raising the cap on H-1B would hamper the wages of senior workers already in the industry.
Walt Disney has laid off about 250 employees and replaced them with Indians holding H1-B visas.
The United States will start accepting the applications for H-1B visas, most sought after by Indians, from April one for the fiscal 2011.
'The battle for brain power among Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla and newer AI companies is fierce.' 'Given the race for AI with China, these companies will find it hard pressed to fill that talent gap,' notes an IT professional based in the US.
Taking up the case of Indian IT companies and professionals, Jaitley told Ross about the contribution of highly-skilled Indians in the economic development of the United States and India and stressed that they should continue to do so, which is in the best interest of the two countries, officials said.
Now, these spouses can be employed in the United States while on an H-4 visa. In many cases, these spouses will now begin working or starting their own companies
High visa processing fees, social security issues and the decision by Administrative Appeals Office to reapply for H1B on location change make life tougher for highly skilled professionals from India, Nasscom chief BVR Mohan Reddy tells Ritu Jha/Rediff.com
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