DHS mulls major change in H-1B visa, over 1.5 million Indians to be affected

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

The new regulations considered by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will prohibit foreign workers from getting the H-1B visa extensions if there green card applications are pending.

The proposal will lead to the large-scale deportation of foreigners on H-1B visa for high-specialty workers who are mostly Indians and it is expected to change the way how high-tech companies functions in the states.
An official of an immigration firm in the US said that the change will be catastrophic for Indian American community.

More than 750,000 H-1B primary applicants stuck in green card backlogs over many decades. It is estimated that around 800,000 dependents  of Indian origin will be directly impacted if Department of Homeland Security gets rid of H1B visa extension beyond 6th year.

This will result in the mass exodus of Indians from the US and around 1.5 million Indian living in the US will be severely effected by the new regulations.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have expressed concerns on the H-1B visa issue.
The officials at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under DHS were not willing to discuss any part part of the per- decisional processes.

Jonathan Withington, chief of media relations for USCIS, said that the agency  was considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to implement the President’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ Executive Order.
This will include a thorough review of employment-based visa programmes.

Duration of the H-1B visa is three to six years to employers to hire a foreign worker.
However, the H-1B holders who started the green card process can often renew their work visas.

Indian visa holders would have a dramatic effect as over half of all H-1B visas have been awarded to Indian nationals.

The official at the immigration firm confirmed that there is no per-country limit on visas like H-1B or L-1 visas while companies tend to hire over 70% individuals of 85,000 visas from India every year.

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