US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report. The proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed administration officials.
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.
'New announcements are made every day which brings tremendous amount of instability and uncertainty.' 'Relying on America has become a big problem.'
The US government has removed a regulation proposed by former president Donald Trump's administration that sought to narrow the definition of "specialty occupation" under the H-1B visa regime. The change comes as a relief for Indian information technology firms, which are among the largest users of such visas. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally vacated a regulation that would have redefined the H-1B specialty occupation, restricted off site placement of H-1B employees, and otherwise increased employer compliance obligations. "The vacatur follows a federal court ruling that set aside the regulation because the agency did not have good cause to bypass notice and comment rulemaking, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act," explained immigration law firm Fragomen.
As of September 2025, the expected time of interview appointments for visitor visa (B-1/B-2) at New Delhi was 12 months, far more than the time at other US consulates in the capital cities of top economies of the world.
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.
Some foreign guest workers in the US will be able to re-submit their applications for the H1-B visa, the most sought-after non-immigrant visa among Indian IT professionals, if their petition was solely rejected because it was based on the initial registration period, according to a federal agency. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such re-submission of applications is for those whose applications have been rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after October 1, 2020. The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that he is in favour of expansion of H-1B visa programme, offered to highly skilled professionals and students to live and work in the country.
An in-depth look at the H-1B skilled worker visa to America. What quetions will you be asked? What if your job requires travel? What does the future hold for H-1Bs? Read on
It's not just wrong. It's dumb. Mr President, would America really be greater without us?" he asked in a tweet.
Latest figures released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services show an increase in the number of people applying for H-1B visas in the last two months.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is the federal agency responsible to process the visas, on Monday started accepting applications for H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2019, beginning October 1.
The Biden administration has announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and implement the modifications to the registration system. On January 7, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced to do away with the traditional lottery system in deciding the successful applicants for the H-1B visas. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
The proposed annual quota for Indian companies could be between 10 and 15 per cent. Currently, there are no country-specific limits on H-1B allotment.
'As Mayor, I will use my platform to reject any efforts by the Trump administration to curtail immigration.'
'Techies who did a master's there and moved to US companies look down on Indian companies who they consider as just doing body shopping.'
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Trent, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers. On the other hand, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
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.
This move is expected to restrict movement of H-1B visa holders.
'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.'
The company's H-1B petition on behalf of Anisetty was denied on the sole ground that the job offered to him did not qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation.
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.
Amid growing concerns of surging COVID-19 cases, the US has announced that it will waive the in-person interview requirement for a range of visa applicants during the entire year in 2022, including for H-1B workers and students, many of whom are from India. 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.
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.
A new law and a new study refuel the H-1B debate.
The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
The ruling by a federal judge in Oregon means that there will be no change in the H-1B visa issuance process for the fiscal 2018 which begins on April 3.
The denial rate jumped from 4% to 41% for Tech Mahindra, from 6% to 34% for TCS, from 7% to 53% for Wipro and from just 2% to 45% for Infosys.
Given the sharp differences that the Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the White House has on various aspects of immigration reform including H-1B, the Congressional passage of the bill and its becoming a law as of now appears to be a tall order.
The decision to hike US H-1B visa application fee to $100,000, trade talks and the GST rate cut will be the key drivers for stock market movement this week, analysts said.
Do you support this move by the US Governors? Do you think Indian would benefit should H1-B visas be increased?
In sectors like IT, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and transportation, the H-1B One Workforce grant programme would be used to upskill the present workforce and train a new generation of workers.
Glen Keiser, consular section chief, US Consulate, Mumbai, says that Hyderabad and Bangalore are centres of H-1B visa fraud.
The changes if legalised would have a detrimental effect on the functioning of Indian tech companies in the US and also small and medium-sized contractual farms in the IT sector, which are mostly owned by Indian Americans.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency which receives and determines the successful applications for H-1B visas, said yesterday that it received 199,000 H-1B applications for the 2018 fiscal year.
H-1B visa reform bill introduced in US Senate
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.
The United States immigration authorities have announced that 2,000 slots in the H1B visa category are still available for those holding American master's degree or advanced degrees.
The rush for these visas before the limit runs out is apparent from the fact that while 3,302 such visas were available on November 29, 2005 only 1,364 visas remain on offer at present.
