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.
The US move to reduce the number of H1B visas to 65,000 from 195,000 will affect the Indian information technology industry in the long run, Kiran Karnik
As the United States plans to reduce the number of H1-B visas to 65,000 from 195,000, India's apex body National Association of Software and Service Companies sought to cap it between 120,000 and 130,000
Several Indians who arrived with an H-1B visa at Newark and John F Kennedy airports were deported based on a new rule, immigration attorneys and activists have reported. The new rule stipulates that those who arrive on a work visa should 'arrive at the place of work'.
The H-1B visas coveted by highly-skilled professionals mainly from India appear to be losing its sheen thanks to the economic downturn in the US when for the first time in years there were fewer takers even one week after authorities began accepting applications.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services would accept petitions for the H-1B work visas on the first five working days beginning April 1.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association, which had earlier opposed the measure, described it on Friday as 'disappointing'. It argued that this would prove to be counterproductive as it prevents the US companies to hire the best available global talent. The H-1B has mostly benefitted Indian techies.
The government has asked for a 60-day pause in the case to 'allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues'.
The move will have a major impact on Indian women as they are the major beneficiary of the Obama-era rule.
The Republican Study Committee of the House of Representatives, in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, appealed to them to take up the legislation and pass it in the next few months. The panel called for an increase in the number of H-1B visas from the current 65,000 to 115,000 and for 20 per cent built-in annual increase.
The US Chamber of Commerce urges US lawmakers to revamp job-based Green Card and H-1B programmes.
The money generated, expected to be more than a billion dollar per annum, would be used to fund a biometric entry and exit tracking system
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 April, visa applications to be issued for the US financial year beginning October saw a 50 per cent drop over last April.
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.
"We will fight to protect every last American life," Trump
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.
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.
'Things may get much worse before they get better,' predicts Ajay Chhibber.
Amid speculation that there would be reduction in number of H-1B visas, which has attracted large number of Indian professionals, a top immigration expert has said that the quota of 65,000 will get capped as the filing opens on April 1.
India has a comparative edge over key competitors in a majority of products it exports to the US and stands to gain market share as the US raises tariffs on its major trade partners, NITI Aayog said on Monday. In its quarterly trade report, it recommended that the government fast-track the India-US free trade agreement with time-bound goals to resolve non-tariff barriers and finalise digital trade rules on data flows and e-signatures to support services exports.
'Of course, people will have to carry documents all the time. There is overall uncertainty in living in the US.'
The H-1B work visas for highly skilled professionals have been most beneficial from IT sector professionals from India.
GST 2.0 may cushion consumers against US tariffs, but like the 2019 corporate tax cut, it risks being another tactical fix rather than a structural growth strategy, expects Debashis Basu.
Hires 2 former US ambassadors to India.
Given the rate at which the USCIS has now been receiving the H-1B applications on a daily basis, officials said it would not be a surprise that they announce that the cap has been reached before the end of this year.
IT services major Infosys on Thursday reported 11.46 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,806 crore for December quarter FY25 and raised its guidance on the back of growth in financial services and manufacturing. The company had logged a profit of Rs 6,106 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
'Brazil, China, Colombia and India each had more than 2,000 of their citizens overstaying student/exchange visas, with India having the highest number (7,000).'
Where do Indian IT firms stand compared to their global peers in this journey of transformation? Ayan Pramanik seeks answers from IT services analyst Phil Fersht.
Despite the rise in visa application fee and increasing pressure from the US to hire more locally, the number of H-1B and L-1 visa holders at most of the top Indian information technology firms are expected to increase further.
'...he keeps his campaign promises, does what he said he will do which led to his huge victory.'
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.
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.
Posing a series of questions to the prime minister, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked if Modi would convey to the US president that India would send its own aircraft -- like Venezuela and Colombia did -- to bring back Indian deportees in the future.
'The policies announced by his administration are implemented faster.'
The foreign degree no longer sells itself, families are doing the math, and for many, the numbers just don't add up.
'The cooperation in technology is one of the most important aspects of the visit.' 'It will have a long-lasting impact because it will shift the entire paradigm in the context of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.'
During his inauguration on Monday, President Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border.
