The Trump administration is reportedly moving ahead with its decision not to give work permits to the spouses of H-1B visa-holders, arguing that this displaces genuine American workers.
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.
During his presidential campaign, Obama had pledged to make comprehensive immigration reform a top priority in his first year as President.
Gor also announced that India will be a member of the Pax Silica alliance.
Economic experts fear massive layoffs in various sectors of the American economy due to the current economic distress that is only going to deteriorate in the coming months. A record 3.3 million Americans have filed initial jobless claims for the week ending March 21. Even as the peak of coronavirus in the US is two weeks away, millions of people in the country have lost their jobs.
US President-elect Joe Biden plans to increase the number of high-skilled visas, including H-1B, and eliminate the limit on employment-based visas by country, both of which are expected to benefit tens of thousands of Indian professionals impacted by some immigration policies of the outgoing Trump administration.
Slamming American immigration policies, Microsoft boss Bill Gates has said the US was shutting the door on the best and the brightest at a time when the country needed it the most.
Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the federal agency for immigration services has said it is wrong to assume that sacked workers holding the much-sought-after H-1B visas have to leave the country within 60 days, asserting they have multiple options to stay in the US. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The new rule stipulates that those who arrive on a work visa should work under the petitioner and not at a client's site.
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.
Most applicants of the H1-B visas, much sought-after by hi-tech professionals including Indians, are 'average' workers and not the 'innovators' as portrayed by industry lobbyists, a report has said, opposing the extension of the popular guest worker programmes. New data analysis shows that the vast majority of H1-B workers, including those at most major tech firms, are not the innovators industry portrays them to be, the Centre for Immigration Studies said in a statement.
In what could be seen as a setback to Indian IT professionals, the US Senate has voted for imposing strict conditions on hiring of people with H-1B visas by American companies receiving federal bailout money.
A presidential advisory sub-committee has recommended the federal government to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from the existing 60 days to 180 days so that the workers have enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives. "The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days," Ajay Jain Bhutoria, member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday. In his presentation, Bhutoria highlighted the significant challenges faced by H1-B workers laid off from their jobs.
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.
The issue was raised by the visiting CII's CEO Mission led by Bharati enterprise chairman Sunil Bharati Mittal, who among others met Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, at the White House on Wednesday. During the meeting, the delegation comprising top Indian CEOs brought to the notice the concerns about the recent developments in the US with regard to H-1B work visa programme and certain provisions in the stimulus bill.
The current H-1B minimum wage of USD 60,000 was established in 1989 and since then has remained unchanged.
President Donald Trump's executive order restricting entry of skilled foreign workers into the US, mainly on H-1B and L1 visas, has resulted in an estimated loss of $100 billion to companies in the US, a top American think-tank claimed. The executive order signed by Trump on June 22, that had temporarily banned issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31, caused a negative impact to the valuation of Fortune 500 firms equivalent to over $100 billion in losses, Brookings Institute said in a report released this week.
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).
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.
More companies can now get the visa rather than very few taking a lion's share.
Indians are the main beneficiaries of the H-1B visas, which bring in the best of the talent and brains from across the world. Highly skilled professionals from India walk away with the overwhelming number of H-1B visas - which is Congressional mandated 65,0000 every year and another 20,000 for those who received higher education from the US.
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 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.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, officially, has not come out on the number of H-1B applications received by it since April 1 when it started accepting petitions for it for the fiscal 2014 beginning October 1, 2013.
The current cap on H1-B visas could lead to a situation where those having the visas demand fatter salaries, which, in turn
Let's fix the system, end the abuses but make sure we recognise the role of immigrants in creating jobs: Khanna.
United States, the largest market for the $282 billion Indian IT sector, is a "wild card" for the industry, lobby grouping Nasssom's president Rajesh Nambiar said on Monday. Speaking to reporters Nambiar said the tariff threats by the US may turn out to be the biggest headwind for the sector. "Broadly, if you were to look at the headwinds, the biggest unknown there would be the tariffs and the impact of what happens in the US market," Nambiar said.
The lawsuit seeks an order declaring the presidential proclamation restriction on issuing new H-1B or H4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful.
The bill will attempt to toughen the H-1B visa program.
In addition, for those applying for certain L-1A and L-1B must submit an additional $4,500.
The Congress on its Twitter handle also criticised Modi's US visit.
Sikka said since more and more of the work is now becoming automated, the Indian IT companies need to focus much more on the innovative areas and on the new areas.
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.
Since early December 2008, Sreehari Gopalakrishnan has applied to 176 firms, and the rate of call back has steadily declined. "Earlier, it used to be from 20 to 30 places but now it is less than 10 per cent", says Gopalakrishnan, an analyst with a firm in Connecticut that does relocation management. With the current economic downturn and the housing slump, his company has several houses in its inventory worth millions of dollars.
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