Aside from the fact that a woman of Indian origin will enter the White House as vice president for the first time in history, the election of Biden-Harris is good news for Indian professionals for another reason. The new administration is expected to reverse some of the decisions of the outgoing Trump administration, including the H-1B. Tens of thousands of Indian professionals will benefit if the new rule plans to increase the number of highly skilled visas.
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This was part of the comprehensive immigration reform that the Biden administration plans to work on, either all at once or in separate pieces, PTI reported.
In June, Trump temporarily suspended H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers from unemployment exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In October, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program, which were intended to protect American workers, restore integrity, and better ensure that H-1B petitions are approved only to qualified beneficiaries and petitioners. . These proposals were not applicable to those already in the US, but were intended for new visa holders who will go to the US.
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The Biden administration plans to create a new visa category to allow cities and counties to request higher levels of immigrants to support their growth.
“Highly qualified temporary visas should not be used to discourage the hiring of workers already in the US for in-demand occupations. An immigration system that displaces highly skilled workers in favor of entry-level wages and skills threatens American innovation and competitiveness, ”according to a policy document issued by the Biden campaign.
“Biden will work with Congress to first reform temporary visas to establish a wage-based allocation process and establish enforcement mechanisms to ensure they are aligned with the labor market and are not used to undermine wages. Then, Biden will support the expansion of the number of highly skilled visas and the removal of employment-based visa limits by country, creating unacceptably long delays, ”he said.
Tech companies rely on H-1B visas that allow them to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Employment-based visas, also known as green cards, allow migrants to obtain lawful permanent residence in the US to perform skilled work.
Currently, the number of employment-based visas is capped at 140,000 each year.
According to the policy document, Biden will also waive from any limits recent graduates of doctoral programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields in the US who are prepared to make some of the most important contributions to the worldwide economy.
(With PTI inputs)
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