H-1B workers have minimal skills, says Infosys whistleblower
Lower numbers signal that that companies, especially the technology services firms, are steadily reducing the dependency on non-immigrant visas.
On June 23, in a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year.
Indians received the lion's share of H1-B visas over the 12-month period ending September 2004, and the H1-B post at the US Consulate General Office in Chennai was one of the busiest such offices in the world, a US consulate official said.
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
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.
Observing that the H-1B work visa programme helps hire the best available talent of the world, American software giant Microsoft has said H-1B visa holders have contributed significantly to its success.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced to review its policy in H-1B cap exemptions for non-profit entities that are related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education.
According to the latest figures released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, just 29,700 people had applied for H-1B visas till August 13.
Trump's proposed policy limits undergraduates from any one country to 5% at select top US universities, raising concerns for Indian aspirants eyeing elite colleges.
US to start accepting H-1B petitions from April 1.
Arun Vakil looks at H1B visas in the United States. He gives an introduction, reviews details and looks at the future of this most desired and least available visa.
A year ago, when thousands of people were handed pink slips, the USCIS had received 42,000 H-1B applications.
This is primarily because of the current economic situation in the country, Microsoft said. "Given the economic downturn, we are filing substantially fewer H-1B applications than we filed last year," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog posting on microsoftissues.com.
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.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it has received approximately 49,000 H-1B petitions till August seven counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap, more than four months after it started accepting applications for visas for the 2010 fiscal beginning this October.
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).
The new information required by the Department of Labour is significant because before sponsoring a foreign worker for the H-1B visa, the company needs to get its labour application approved by it.
The USCIS said this year it expects to receive more than 65,000 petitions.
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.
US President Donald Trump has extended the freeze on the most sought-after H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas by three months to protect American workers, saying while therapeutics and COVID-19 vaccines are recently available, their effect on the labour market and community health has not yet been fully realised. The decision will impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. The freeze on various categories of work visas was ordered by Trump through two proclamations on April 22 and June 22 last year.
ITServe's lawsuit against the USCIS alleges that the agency has no authority to misinterpret the existing regulations and shorten the approval durations.
In the wake of the economic crisis, there has been a sharp drop in H-1B work visa applications from major Indian IT companies.
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.
About 76,000 H-1B visas were issued to people in computer occupations in 2014.
The United States on Monday said India 'missed' a major opportunity to get a liberalised regime for the much sought-after H1B visas by not agreeing to Doha deal in Geneva this July.
The proposed comprehensive immigration bill if passed by the Congress and signed into law by the US President would bar companies from hiring people on H-1B visa if 50 per cent of their employees are not Americans.
Officials said the Citizenship and Immigration Services would not issue daily update on number of applications received, but will make an announcement when the cap is reached.
Hike in H1-B visas indicates that the company is winning new deals, for which projects initially need employees onsite.
The current H-1B minimum wage of USD 60,000 was established in 1989 and since then has remained unchanged.
Among IT services firm, Cognizant witnessed over 60 per cent of its initial applications rejected, followed by Capgemini, Accenture, Wipro, and Infosys. In 2018, the top six Indian firms got just 16 per cent or 2,145 H1B work permits.
High-tech industry bodies have welcomed the move to drop a hefty $3500 fee increase in the H1B visa programme, which would also benefit Indian professionals seeking jobs in the US. Hailing the move, they said the US must retain top talent from around the world to retain America's economic leadership.
Information technology professionals, one of main reasons for introduction of the H-1B visa by the US, are gradually losing out their share of the temporary visa programme to teachers and doctors, a study reveals.
All were released on $250,000 bond, the Department of Justice said.
The US would start accepting petitions from Thursday for the H-1B visa applications, the most sought after work visa by Indian IT professionals, for the fiscal 2011 without any cutoff date as in the past.
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
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it has reached the cap on Congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B work visas, the most sought after by Indian professionals.
