Advertisment

Mass deportation of Indians unlikely, Trump administration drops draconian H-1B visa proposal

author-image
Nimrat Kaur
New Update
Mass deportation of Indians unlikely, Trump administration drops draconian H-1B visa proposal
Advertisment
Providing a major relief for foreign tech workers from India, the Donald Trump administration has put off the move to deport thousands of H-1B visa holders from US. The Trump administration is not considering any proposal that could force deportation of thousands of H-1B visa holders by denying them extensions beyond six years, as they waited for permanent residency. “…USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing our interpretation of section 104(c) of AC-21, which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit. Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead,” Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said. “The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment-based visa programs,” he added. “USCIS has announced to us that it is retracting its policy to deny all H-1B visa through (beyond) year 6 based on section 104. This is a GREAT development. The proposal, in the form of an internal memo circulated in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees USCIS, had set out to end the provision of granting extensions to H-1B visa holders whose applications for permanent residency (Green Card) had been accepted. Trump administration drops draconian H-1B visa proposal Immigration Voice, an advocacy group campaigning for a better deal for  H-1B visa workers, mostly from India, said it was anticipated. “We are ECSTATIC to share this Breaking News,” it said in a post on its Facebook page and claimed that it had succeeded “in protecting its members and getting USCIS to change its policy regarding H-1B renewal.” At present, the H-1B visa offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers. According to Nasscom, the use of visas by Indian IT firms has fallen by 50 percent in the last two years and that the number now stands below 10,000 (of the 85,000 H-1B visas issued annually). Narendra Modi government is yet to officially react as it has been watching the US administration’s previously announced plans to tighten H-1B rules so that American workers can get the job instead of the lower-paid foreigners. -PTC News-
donald-trump h-1b-visa trump-administration
Advertisment

Stay updated with the latest news headlines.

Follow us:
Advertisment