In good news for Indian workers, the US is expected to roll out a visa renewal programme that will allow highly-skilled professionals from other countries to renew their H-1B visas without having to leave the country.
According to the US Department of State, the renewal programme will H-1B visa holders is expected to be implemented this year and will help hundreds and thousands of Indians who are employed in several specialty occupations, saving them from the trouble of going to India and renew their visas.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The development came after the successful completion of a pilot programme launched by the State Department to renew H-1B visas in the US, which involved around 20,000 eligible participants who met the requirements listed in the US Federal Register.
The aim of the programme was to address the long-standing concerns raised by H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indians. The visa holders traditionally have to spend a lot of time and money to travel halfway across the world to renew and restamp their visas, causing a great deal of inconvenience.
However, with the implementation of the pilot programme, it has now become possible to expedite the process of visa renewal. The US State Department said the pilot programme “allowed many specialty occupation workers from India to renew their visas without leaving the United States.”
“This pilot programme streamlined the renewal process for thousands of applicants, and the Department of State is working to formally establish a US-based renewal programme in 2025,” it said in a year-end statement. No dates have officially been announced.
This is happening amid an intense debate over the H-1B visa programme and its impact on the American workforce. Hard-right supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump have called on t end the programme, labelling it as a threat to American workers and western civilisation.
However, Trump and his top officials including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have supported the visa regime, saying America needs talented people to stay ahead globally in technology, research and healthcare.
As per the US government’s official records, the number of H-1B recipients who were allowed into the US rose from 570,368 in the financial year 2018 to 601,594 in the financial year 2019. However, the number fell to 368,440 in the financial year 2020.
In fiscal year 2023, Indians constituted 72.3% of all H-1B visa holders, reflecting a consistent trend of Indian nationals dominating this category. In contrast, Chinese applicants accounted for only 11.7% of approvals, as per a report in Mint.