A legislation has been introduced in the US Senate on reforming the H-1B and L1 visa programmes, popular among Indians, under which the American firms looking for skilled foreign professionals are required to make a "good faith" attempt to recruit local workers first.
The government has asked for a 60-day pause in the case to 'allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues'.
The State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which allowed several companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the US, a move which could affect hundreds of Indians. The proposal, if finalised, will eliminate any misconception that the "B-1 in lieu of H policy" provides an alternative avenue for foreign professionals to enter the US to perform skilled labour that allows, and potentially even encourages them and their employers to circumvent the restrictions and requirements relating to the H non-immigrant classification established by Congress to protect the US workers, the State Department said.
Researches reveal that many firms that employ H-1B workers directly, including some of the biggest names in the technology industry such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Salesforce and Uber, pay a large share of their H-1B workers at one of the two lowest wage levels, Level 1 or Level 2.
Export-led Indian IT sector is not directly hit by Trump's tariff order on goods, but there could be worrisome indirect bearings on it arising out of possible slowdown in decision-making and GDP growth in America over higher tariffs, which may then cloud demand from specific verticals, according to some analysts.
Making a case for revising the H1B visas upwards, the US Commerce Secretary has said high-tech businesses are facing shortages in filling up positions
Those on H-1B visas have to find a new job within 60 days or head back to India.
'...he keeps his campaign promises, does what he said he will do which led to his huge victory.'
While both sides have announced the decision to restart talks for a trade deal, government officials said discussions are continuing virtually.
Amid Trump's expected action against employment visas, India's bellwether IT firms reveal they have been preparing for this eventuality for years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims President Donald Trump was instrumental in bringing about the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, a claim India has consistently denied.
nfosys chief financial officer Ranganath M said there was confusion in visa costs.
'Indian markets may underperform global peers for the next two quarters.' 'But beyond that, India should catch up and resume its long-term growth path.'
'Trump is not shy when he is frustrated with countries'
"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.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it has received sufficient number of applications to reach the mandated cap of 65,000 for working professionals for the fiscal ending September 30, 2010.
'The US values its relationship with India and under the strong leadership of President Donald J Trump and Prime Minister Modi, I am optimistic about the days ahead for both of our nations.'
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.
There has never been a moment in India's history when it has been so adrift in the world, so confused about what it stands for and against and so humiliated, asserts Aakar Patel.
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
Two US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that aims at granting an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the country, a move which will benefit the spouses of thousands of foreigners, including Indians, and also address the labour shortage affecting American businesses. H-4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States. Many H-4 visa holders are highly skilled people in their own right and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.
Trump to sign an executive order aimed at achieving a more skills-based and merit-based immigration system.
The US dependent visa puts many restrictions on the spouses, mostly women, of the skilled workers who have an H1-B visa. Some even felt like they were thrown back into a model of the 'traditional family' where women are not valued at all outside of the home.
In President Donald Trump's big priority bill, there is a proposal for a 5 percent excise tax on remittance transfers that would cover more than 40 million people, including those holding green cards and H1B visas.
Blinken blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals.
The bill proposes to increase the H-1B visa fees to about $5,000 per application.
Noting that Indians have been benefited most from the H-1B and L1 work visas, a senior US official has said there have been some cases of abuse of these visa categories in India.
Indian start-ups and software product companies are trying to attract engineers and programmers who are either stranded in India because of the lockdown or H-1B visa holders who have been laid off.
US Consular Officers hosted a chat with readers to address their queries and doubts. The transcript.
US immigration authorities, in the past four years, have increased denial of work-related visas, with India-born professionals being refused at higher rates than nationals of other countries, an American think tank said in a report on Friday.
Rescinding its more than 13-year-old policy, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said that the burden of proof in establishing eligibility is, at all times, on the petitioner.
This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, USCIS said.
India's IT industry will seek an increase in the number of H1-B (non-immigrant) visas and a mechanism to refund social security taxes paid by Indian professionals in the US, when President George W Bush visits India early next month.
In a settlement, Infosys agreed to pay $34 million to resolve all allegations.
During his inauguration on Monday, President Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border.
H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa, which allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations
The US move comes in the midst of protests by India that the increase incorporated in the Border Security Bill is discriminatory against Indian companies and needed to be amended.
As a result, about 1,80,000 would be eligible to work in the US.
Reopening the country to people seeking green cards, or legal permanent residence, Biden in his proclamation on Wednesday said that the policy of former US President Donald Trump does not advance the interests of the United States.
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