H-1B Visa Restrictions

US entrepreneur James Fishback says American tech firms should stop hiring skilled workers from India and rely on domestic talent instead

The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The powerful US Chambers of Commerce has launched a campaign to address the acute shortage of skilled and workforce, which includes urging the Biden administration to double the number of H-1B visas

The US issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year. Most of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders are from India and China

The move is expected to come to the rescue of a large number of Indian IT professionals who were having a tough time during the previous Trump administration rule

A US court has blocked two H-1B regulations proposed by the Trump administration to restrict the ability of American companies to hire foreign employees

Donald Trump's order to enforce ban on US companies' favourite visa, H-1b, has been blocked by a US federal judge

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services data, the share of Indian companies among the top 10 visa recipients has dropped from 51 per cent to 24 per cent during the 2016-19 period.

Indian IT companies have reduced their dependence on the visas because of the tightening of visa issuances

The changes may see the introduction of additional requirements to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders

Some employers note traditional three-year renewable terms of H-1Bs have also been changing

The Trump administration has been tightening the rules for H-1B visas and plans to revoke the ability of spouses to work as part of the effort

The H-1B filing process begins from April 2 for the fiscal year 2019 starting October 1

The US, which has taken a number of steps to tighten visa processes, accounts for over 60 per cent of India's IT export revenues

Congressman Darrell Issa is the author of the 'Protect and Grow American Jobs Act', which is seen by Indian IT companies as a business killer