As the date of Donald Trump’s swearing-in draws near, employers and staff are gearing up to absorb any shocks that the new US government may bring into the contentious H-1B visa programme.
A Newsweek report highlighted that many US employers are resorting to hiring remote staff in a bid to bypass the process.
According to the report published on Saturday ’employers are pursuing alternate paths to visas in large part due to the administrative burdens and risk of dealing with existing programme’.
“I only go into H-1B when I have no choice, because it’s costly, it’s uncertain as far as the lottery, and it is the most highly regulated option that I have to present to an employer to choose from,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, partner and immigration practice group chair at law firm Dickinson Wright to Newsweek.
Anxious Indian H1-B holders are adopting another approach as advised by their attorneys and employers.
The Straits Times reported on Sunday that these H1-B visa holders have been asked to stay put in the United States by their employers and attorneys just in case a rule change by the new administration makes their re-entry into the country difficult.
The new Trump administration is likely to introduce a modernised version of the H1-B programme later this week, with an aim to ensure fairness, transparency, and efficiency in hiring global talent.
The programme was first introduced in 1990 to allow US employers to hire foreign talent in speciality occupations, requiring a high level of skill and at least a bachelor’s degree.
Indians have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa programme. They are, in fact, the second biggest immigrant group behind the Mexicans working in the US.
Last year, Indians accounted for more than 72% of the H-1B visas issued. Nearly 20% of these were by the Indian IT companies.
E-commerce giant Amazon tops the list of companies utilising the programme followed by tech giants like Infosys, Google, Meta and IBM.
Trump’s swearing-in is scheduled for January 20. He was earlier president during 2017-2021. India will be represented by external affairs minister S Jaishankar at the ceremony.
