The US administration spearheaded by Donald Trump has declared that a fresh policy is on its way to be imposed that would be making the process of issuing H1-B visas to those to be employed at one or more third-party worksites. And this is likely to leave its impact felt on tourist arrivals to the US from India.
It represents a move that would greatly impact the Indian IT firms and their employees.
The brand new policy states that the company would have to walk an extra length to prove that its H1-B employee at a third party worksite that has specific and non-qualifying assignments in speciality occupation.
And the H1-B program provides temporary US visas that permit companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with a lack of qualified American workers.
Indian IT companies that are among the major beneficiaries of these visas have a large number of employees associated with third-party worksites.
Also, a large number of American travel, banking and commercial services depend on on-site IT workers from India to get their job done. The fresh move was declared on Tuesday via a seven-page policy that empowers the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue H1-visas to an employee only for the period for which he has to work at a third-party worksite.
The issuing of the H1-B visas could be less than three years.
This would be reversing the tradition of issuing the H1-B visas for three years at a time. The fresh guidance comes a few weeks ahead of the commencement of the filing season of the H1-B visas that is expected to be 2nd April, for the fiscal year starting 1st October, 2018.
The latest policy memorandum is part of President Donald Trump’s ‘Buy American and Hire American Executive Order’ and the directive to protect the interests of US workers, it said.
