A few days before the end of his term, the administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump once again changed his H-1B visa regime, giving priority to higher salaries and skills, instead of the current lottery system for the selection candidates willing to work in the country.
The new rules in place for 60 days after being published in the Federal Register on January 8 are likely to cover H-1B candidates. The next season of H1B visa applications is scheduled to start on April 1st.
According to the amended rules, H-1B cap visas would be allocated to those who earn the highest salaries in their respective occupation areas and geographical areas of employment. Visas would be granted first to individuals sponsored by American companies at Level 4, which is the highest of the four salary categories and covers very experienced workers.
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Followed by those at Level 3 and so on, until the annual quota of 85,000 is reached. Until now, the selection of H-1B work visas was done by a random draw system, which did not consider salary, experience or any factors for the selection.
Indians make up the largest number of H-1B visa recipients in the United States. The new rule could make hiring international workers more challenging and would significantly impact Indians who want to work in the country.
The government of India has said it is in negotiations with the United States to increase the predictability of the visa regime and to minimize inconvenience to Indian citizens in the United States.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical knowledge. US technology companies depend on this visa category to hire millions of employees each year from India and China.
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Tech giants oppose change
The constant changes in the H-1B visa regime have been countered by leaders of technology giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter. Although Indian companies have gradually stopped relying on these work permits, many giant tech corporations are still looking to hire workers from the H-1B group.
H-1B visas are generally approved for three years, after which beneficiaries usually change employers and continue to work for other companies based in the United States. In 2018-19, Google, Facebook and Apple hired more than 13,000 highly qualified IT workers on H1B visas, either directly or from existing visa holders looking to change jobs to stay, according to U.S. Department of Labor data.
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