India Hopeful That September Talks With US Will End Ambiguity Over H1-B Visas To Indians

India is looking forward to the two plus two dialogue between foreign and defence ministers of the two countries to be held in September, where the proposed changes in the U.S immigration policy will be discussed, people familiar with the Indian agenda for the talks told HT.

Reportedly, 3,06,601 applications filed by Indian nationals for a green card under the Employment-Based Preference Category are awaiting approval with the U.S authorities.

The data from the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) showed that the number of Indian Nationals who received a Green Card varies from year to year. For example, 64,687 Indians received a green card, slightly higher than the 64,116 who were given permanent residence by the U.S in 2015. 77,908 Indian Nationals got a green card in 2014.

Photo Credits: Reuters

Several proposals are under consideration for reforming the U.S Immigration Policy, including the eligibility of green cards which doesn¡¯t mention anything specific about India.

¡°We understand that no comprehensive changes have been made by the US administration in recent times to the framework for issuance of green cards to foreign nationals. And in August last year, the USCIS announced that it would expand in-person interviews for the applicants,¡± said an Indian official to HT.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa in the US under the Immigration and Nationality Act, first introduced by George W Bush in 1990. It allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers for skilled occupations, majorly in the IT sector. The visa used to help American countries in dealing with labour shortages in jobs that were growing rapidly.

Photo Credits: Reuters

The reform of H1-B visa programme will force tech companies, which depended on relatively-cheap outside labour, to hire locals. The U.S.issues about 65,000 H1-B visas every year and almost two-thirds of the visa applicants are Indian nationals working for Indian IT companies such as Wipro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) or foreign I.T companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Accenture.

Raising slogans of ¡°Buy American and Hire American¡±, Donald Trump urged companies to address the country's unemployment ordeal by employing Americans first before people from other nationalities. Seven bills pertaining to the H1-B were introduced by different Congressmen and Senators. However, none of these have been passed so far.

¡°We have been saying that the mobility of skilled workers to the US has been a mutually beneficial partnership which should be nurtured. Indian professionals have contributed to the growth and development of the US economy and helped it retain its competitive edge,¡± further told HT.

India and the U.S have been engaged in ensuring that the movement of people is a mutually beneficial process.