Updated: Dec 09, 2017
We reported recently that the US government had caused confusion and chaos by making the process for gaining H-1B visas more arduous. This wave of changes also affected another type of visa: the L1 visa. This was mainly due to the Trump Administration's plans to include mandatory interviews and additional checks for applications to what had previously been a smooth and efficient visa scheme. Now, it seems that the government has performed something of an about-turn: the latest USA immigration news is that the process for the H-1B USA visa will remain the same.
H-1B visas are awarded to workers with special skills. They enable employers based in the US to employ skilled workers from overseas and to bring them over to the USA for work, or work experience. A large majority of the H-1B visas have historically been awarded to tech workers in Silicon Valley. If an H-1B visa holder is fired from their US based company or otherwise loses their post (for instance, if the company goes in to liquidation), they are afforded a 'grace period' of 60 days to either find other suitable employment in the USA or to leave the country. Countries that have benefited greatly from this USA visa scheme include Canada and Ireland (and many other countries that are able to take advantage of the ESTA scheme for visiting the US for non work purposes), but other non ESTA countries have also used the H-1B visa scheme very regularly. Indeed, another majority group that has tended to benefit a lot from this programme has been tech and IT specialists from India. This programme was particularly attractive as it enable the free and efficient exchange of skills across nations in a manner that was mutually beneficial for both the US and for the skilled workers visiting the US. Since, 1990, there have been a grand total of 2, 440, 000 H-1B visas granted. In March 2017, the Trump Administration attempted to suspend all H-1B visas until further notice in an attempt to stimulate business in the US through hiring only US citizens. However, it quickly became apparent that the Trump Administration's proposed changes were very bad for business and these changes were revoked. Now, more recent proposed changes, to make the H-1B visa application process more difficult, have also been strongly challenged. For example, Suresh Prabhu who is India's Commerce Minister, raised the issue in very strong terms with Washington in October 2017.
As mentioned above, many Indian citizens have benefited a great deal from the H-1B visa scheme, and companies in the US have benefited a great deal from them in turn. In 2015, 80 percent of all H-1B visa applications were from India and China. As such, this piece of visa and ESTA news has been followed closely in India. On December 2nd 2017, Thomas Vajda who is the USA's Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for State for South Asia, made a special announcement to South Asian citizens that there had been no new laws passed regarding changes proposed to the H-1B visa scheme. Though changes had been threatened and talked about by USA immigration authorities and the Trump Administration, frequently making USA visa news, nothing had actually been enshrined in law. This entails that all skilled workers who are eligible to do so can continue to apply for the H-1B visa scheme as they had done (or could do) in previous years. Relief was one of the main emotions felt in response to this news, both in India and throughout the world. Commentators have argued time and time again that in the modern world, business success depends on rejecting insularity and nationalisic self interest and instead forging connections across the world.
Pressure from both within the US and outside the US has been brought to bear on the Trump Administration numerous times throughout the past year when it comes to reversing this administration's attempted changes to immigration and visa law. Experts from both the US and beyond have exposed many of the administration's proposed changes to be both discriminatory and economically unsound. It is likely that more changes will be proposed by the administration in the future, and that these will be met by further challenges. As a result, make sure that you stay tuned to get the latest information on developments in the field of immigration law in the US so that your travel and business plans are not disrupted.
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