The recent controversy surrounding the H-1B visa in the U.S. has sparked significant debate over its fairness and impact. The H-1B visa, which allows skilled foreign workers to fill specialized roles in the U.S., has become particularly contentious due to its cap on the number of visas issued annually, with a specific limit on the number of applicants from any single country. Now, the United States of America’s president-elect Donald Trump recently took his side in the H-1B visa debate saying that he supports immigration visas for highly skilled workers. “I’ve always supported these visas and have been in favor of them. That’s why they exist,” Trump said. “I have many H-1B visa holders working at my properties. I’m a strong believer in the H-1B program, and I’ve used it numerous times. It’s an excellent program,” he added in a conversation with the New York Post.
Trump In Support Of H1-B Visa: How Will It Impact Indians? | Explained
While the H1B visa program has attracted criticism from right activists and organisations, president-elect Trump has voiced his opinion in favour of the program. Measures, if any, to the program, can benefit Indians as they account for the majority of the applications.
In his first administration, Trump had restricted access to foreign worker visas and was critical of the program.
Amidst this, how will the changes and other implications impact the largest beneficiaries of the programme, i.e. Indians. Here’s an explainer.
Firstly, what is the H1B Visa?
The H-1B visa allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require specific skills and education.
The US Federal Department of Labour described it as a program that applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. “A specialty occupation is one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States,” the website of the labour department said.
How will reforms in H1B visa impact Indians?
The US government on December 17 introduced reforms to the H-1B visa programme which is expected to benefit thousands of Indian tech professionals. The changes, finalised by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), aim to modernise the programme, offer flexibility to employers, and streamline the process for skilled foreign workers. “These improvements to the programme provide employers with greater flexibility to hire global talent, boost our economic competitiveness, and allow highly skilled workers to continue advancing American innovation,” said Alejandro N Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security.
Some of the key changes include modernised definitions for cap-exempt organisations. This means that nonprofit and government research organizations now qualify as cap-exempt if their primary activity is research. The government will relook at preventing lottery system abuse. The measure has been implemented to prevent abuse by organizations submitting large volumes of applications, ensuring greater fairness for legitimate applicants.
These reforms could benefit Indians who accounted for 72.3 per cent of the 3,86,000 visas (in 2023) issued under the programme, data with the US Government showed. Indians accounted for the majority of the H1B applications. Data showed that in 2022, Indians accounted for 3.2 lakh visa applications, nearly 72 per cent of the total applications.
Additionally, there is currently a limit on the number of H-1B visas that can be issued to citizens of any single country each year. This cap creates challenges for nations with large pools of skilled workers, such as India, as it restricts the number of visas their citizens can obtain. For example, even though there may be 85,000 H-1B visas available annually, a significant portion of them may be assigned to applicants from countries like India.
However, once the cap is reached, applicants beyond that limit will not receive a visa. Presently, no more than 7 per cent of the total H-1B visas can be allocated to workers from any one country, regardless of demand, resulting in lengthy delays for applicants from countries with high demand, such as India.