(This story originally appeared in on Jan 02, 2018)









The US grants 85,000 non-immigrant H-1B visas every year - 65,000 to foreigners hired abroad and 20,000 to foreigners enrolled in advanced degree courses in US schools and colleges. An estimated 70 per cent of these visas go to Indians - hired mostly by IT companies. The move came as a reaction to a proposed US bill ' Protect and Grow American Jobs '. The bill proposes new restrictions to prevent abuse and misuse of H-1B visas. It tightens the definition of visa- dependent companies, and imposes fresh restrictions in terms of minimum salary and movement of talent. Apart from prescribing higher minimum wages , the Bill places the onus on clients that they will certify that the visa holder is not displacing an existing employee for a tenure of 5-6 years.The US grants 85,000 non-immigrant H-1B visas every year - 65,000 to foreigners hired abroad and 20,000 to foreigners enrolled in advanced degree courses in US schools and colleges. An estimated 70 per cent of these visas go to Indians - hired mostly by IT companies. Software industry body Nasscom has reportedly flagged its concerns around visa- related issues in the US with the senators, congressmen and the administration, and will engage further in a dialogue over the next few weeks over the proposed legislation.

In sync with the "Buy American, Hire American" vision, the Trump administration is deliberating on a proposal which may result in large scale deportation of Indians from the US. The proposal which is being shared as a memo in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), can potentially stop foreign workers from keeping their H-1B visas while their green card applications are pending.The move would mean that thousands of Indian employees in the US, a huge chunk of which works in the IT sector, will not get their H-1B visas extended as their applications for Green Card- which grants permanent residency- stay pending. The existing rules allow the administration to extend the H-1B visas beyond the allowed two three-year terms if a green card is due for approval.If the move comes to fruition, an estimated 50,000- 75,000 Indian H-1B visa holders will be deported back to the country.