H-1b Visa Issue

PM Modi in his first-ever in-person meeting with US President Joe Biden raised a number of issues involving the Indian community in America, including access for Indian professionals in the US and speaking about the H-1B visas.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday let the ban on foreign workers visa, in particular H-1B, lapse as the notification issued by his predecessor Donald Trump expired, a move which is likely to benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals.

There has been inordinate delay in issuing of H-4 work authorisation permits to certain categories of spouses of those possessing H-1B foreign work visas, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, a group of highly talented Indian women in the US has said.

A bipartisan group of two powerful American Senators on Wednesday urged the President Joe Biden administration to implement the H-1B visa programme reforms issued by the Donald Trump government in January, under which the visas were to be issued on the criteria of wages and not by a computerised draw of lots.

The Biden administration on Monday indicated it is still undecided on ending the Trump-era ban on issuing of new H-1B visas, with the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asserting that its top priority is the acute needs of individuals fleeing persecution.

An influential immigration advocacy group representing Indian-Americans on Thursday urged the Biden administration not to issue the most sought-after H-1B work visa to any individual born in India, till the time the discriminatory country-cap on green cards or permanent legal residency is removed.

A top Republican Senator has opposed the move of the Biden administration to resort to the traditional lottery system to issue H-1B visas to foreign professionals, saying it is giving Big Tech donors the gift of "cheap" foreign labour at the expense of American workers.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which allowed companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the US, a move which could affect hundreds of Indians.

India is engaged with the US administration and its Congress on issues related to the movement of Indian professionals including those pertaining to the H1B visa programme, said Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan on Thursday.

Several big U.S. business groups sued the Trump administration seeking to throw out immigration restrictions, including those on H-1B visas issued to highly skilled workers with expertise in specialty fields.

A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors, has filed a lawsuit against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the United States or a visa would not be issued to them.

US President Donald Trump suspended the entry of certain foreign workers on Monday until the end of the year, a move the White House said would help the coronavirus-battered economy, but which business groups strongly oppose.

US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend issuing of H-1B visas, which is popular among Indian IT professionals, along with other foreign work visas for the rest of the year.

The temporary suspension of foreign work visas including H-1B and L1, that benefit Indian IT professionals, is expected to free up to 5,25,000 jobs in the US, senior administration officials said after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in this regard.

PM Modi in his first-ever in-person meeting with US President Joe Biden raised a number of issues involving the Indian community in America, including access for Indian professionals in the US and speaking about the H-1B visas.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday let the ban on foreign workers visa, in particular H-1B, lapse as the notification issued by his predecessor Donald Trump expired, a move which is likely to benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals.

There has been inordinate delay in issuing of H-4 work authorisation permits to certain categories of spouses of those possessing H-1B foreign work visas, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, a group of highly talented Indian women in the US has said.

A bipartisan group of two powerful American Senators on Wednesday urged the President Joe Biden administration to implement the H-1B visa programme reforms issued by the Donald Trump government in January, under which the visas were to be issued on the criteria of wages and not by a computerised draw of lots.

The Biden administration on Monday indicated it is still undecided on ending the Trump-era ban on issuing of new H-1B visas, with the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asserting that its top priority is the acute needs of individuals fleeing persecution.

An influential immigration advocacy group representing Indian-Americans on Thursday urged the Biden administration not to issue the most sought-after H-1B work visa to any individual born in India, till the time the discriminatory country-cap on green cards or permanent legal residency is removed.

A top Republican Senator has opposed the move of the Biden administration to resort to the traditional lottery system to issue H-1B visas to foreign professionals, saying it is giving Big Tech donors the gift of "cheap" foreign labour at the expense of American workers.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which allowed companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the US, a move which could affect hundreds of Indians.

India is engaged with the US administration and its Congress on issues related to the movement of Indian professionals including those pertaining to the H1B visa programme, said Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan on Thursday.

Several big U.S. business groups sued the Trump administration seeking to throw out immigration restrictions, including those on H-1B visas issued to highly skilled workers with expertise in specialty fields.

A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors, has filed a lawsuit against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the United States or a visa would not be issued to them.

US President Donald Trump suspended the entry of certain foreign workers on Monday until the end of the year, a move the White House said would help the coronavirus-battered economy, but which business groups strongly oppose.

US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend issuing of H-1B visas, which is popular among Indian IT professionals, along with other foreign work visas for the rest of the year.

The temporary suspension of foreign work visas including H-1B and L1, that benefit Indian IT professionals, is expected to free up to 5,25,000 jobs in the US, senior administration officials said after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in this regard.