Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday allayed fears and said that the number of H-1B visas for Indian IT professionals in United States would not be slashed. Addressing the media in New Delhi, she added that US wanted to correct the lottery process. “No need to get panicky on the visa front,” she said, according to PTI. “The numbers are not something they are changing...the numbers will not come down.”
Sitharaman’s assurance comes more than a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order – dubbed the “Buy American, Hire American” order – to introduce changes to the H-1B visa policy used by companies to hire people from outs US for high-skilled jobs. The order proposes reforms to ensure that H-1B visas are awarded only to the most skilled or highest-paid applicant.
The commerce minister told reporters that only 17% of total US visas are given to Indian companies. She pointed out that the selection process will be more stringent but the number of visas issued will remain unchanged. Sitharaman also stressed that many American companies benefit from the services provided by Indian firms.
The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ workers from outside the country. Companies like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and several others seek a considerable number of H-1B visas to send Indian workers to the US. More than three lakh Indian engineers are believed to be on H-1B visas in the US. However, the number of applications for H-1B visas has declined for the first time in five years.
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