'The kids are already used to this place. We go back and that's a different environment.' 'So, mentally, emotionally we are stressed.'
As the US gets tougher with visas, the prayers of US-bound devotees in India are getting more fervent, and their purse strings looser. Called Visa Hanuman temples (there are half a dozen all over India), some of them ask for a 'fee'.
A Nasscom letter to US senators calls for attention to the fact that there is a considerable body of evidence pointing to the contributions made by H-1B visa holders to innovation and entrepreneurship in the US.
But there is no unanimity within the Obama Administration on this issue that has the potential to jeopardise the Indo-US business ties.
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.
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.
This is against the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for this year.
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.
'Skilled labour is different from immigration.' 'While any adverse immigration ruling will impact Indians, it may not necessarily affect the IT services industry.'
Business leaders tell Congress that to attract and retain the best minds, the U.S. must keep the doors open to immigrants
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation at the G7 summit, their first in-person encounter in 16 months, setting the stage for high-stakes bilateral talks amidst continuing strain in India-US relations.
'USCIS has been making arbitrary rules for over eight years, it's our top priority to set things right.'
This move is expected to restrict movement of H-1B visa holders.
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.
As large-scale layoffs begin at Facebook's parent company Meta, employees on work visas such as H-1Bs are now faced with uncertainty over their immigration status, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledging "this is especially difficult if you're here on a visa" and offering support to those impacted. Meta announced that it is laying off 11,000 employees or 13 per cent of its workforce, with Zuckerberg describing it as "some of the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history." US-based technology companies hire a large amount of H-1B workers, the majority of whom come from countries such as India.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India for four days to strengthen bilateral relations, holding talks with Indian leaders and attending the Quad foreign ministers' meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are set to hold comprehensive talks focusing on a bilateral trade deal, defence cooperation, and energy and critical minerals sectors during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Service, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Trent, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards. However, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Indian and Indian-American IT businesses are being scapegoated for abuse of the visa programme - using it for cheap, immobile labour - that actually pervades the entire industry.
"To ensure a fair and orderly distribution of available H-1B visas, USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. The USCIS has sent the interim final rule for publication in the Federal Register for it becoming effective.
Among Sensex firms, Trent, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, NTPC, Adani Ports and Bajaj Finance were the laggards. However, Bharat Electronics, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers.
Applications for H-1B visas totalled a record 233,000 for fiscal 2016, according to figures released recently.
As in the previous years, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas, which is most popular among IT professionals and companies in IT services.
US to start accepting H-1B petitions from April 1.
The US President said that companies have to bring people to "get those plants opened, we want you to do that, and we want those people to teach our people how to make computer chips and how to make other things."
An actress and her family have been booked for allegedly cheating a London-based software engineer of Rs 9.35 crore under the pretext of marriage. The complaint was filed by the engineer's father, alleging that his son was duped over several years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata for a four-day diplomatic tour to India, marking the first visit by a US secretary of state to the city in 14 years. His itinerary includes meetings with Indian officials, energy talks, and a Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting.
Not only is Samay Raina going the Kapil Sharma route by bringing celebrities as special guests on his show -- which also means he has to be careful that his jokes don't land them in trouble as well -- but he also has to promote sponsors blatantly, observes Sreeju Sudhakaran.
The Indian IT industry has consistently protested the anti-outsourcing rhetoric of American politicians.
Norman Matloff, professor of computer science at the University of California, Davis, believes that the US has enough highly skilled engineers and raising the cap on H-1B would hamper the wages of senior workers already in the industry.
Walt Disney has laid off about 250 employees and replaced them with Indians holding H1-B visas.
The United States will start accepting the applications for H-1B visas, most sought after by Indians, from April one for the fiscal 2011.
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
Taking up the case of Indian IT companies and professionals, Jaitley told Ross about the contribution of highly-skilled Indians in the economic development of the United States and India and stressed that they should continue to do so, which is in the best interest of the two countries, officials 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
'If companies want to hire foreign workers instead of Americans, my bill will hit them where it hurts: Their pocketbooks.'
Former Massachusetts Gover Mitt Romney has said that while he is for increasing the quota for H1B visa, a majority of whose aspirants are Indians, the exact figures would depend on a number of things including the strength of the US economy and the implications for the local workforce.
The USCIS said this year it expects to receive more than 65,000 petitions.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the measures to enforce the provisions of the new Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which prohibits hiring of H-1B visa holders by American companies who receive the federal aid money.
The Biden administration on Friday issued a formal notification to delay the implementation of the previous Trump regime's controversial rule to raise mandatory minimum pay for foreign workers on H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals. 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 technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The Department of Labour in its federal notification published on Friday said that it is considering whether to propose a further delay of the final rule's effective date and accompanying implementation periods that are currently scheduled to take effect on May 14, 2021, and July 1, 2021, respectively.
