H-1B mess is set to kill US tech’s golden goose

Last Friday, just as Americans were winding down for the weekend, the White House dropped a shock-and-awe measure affecting many leading US businesses.

- Frank F Islam

On that day, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation announcing a staggering $100,000 fee on H-IB visa for each employee hired under the programme, effective September 21. This HI-B proclamation could be extremely problematic for the technology industry in the US and India and strains the already strained relationship between the two great nations. even further.

The HL-B proclamation sparked 24 hours of absolute mayhem. Microsoft and other major employers urgently advised their H-IB workers abroad to return before the deadline and instructed those still in the US to avoid international travel. By Sunday evening, perhaps bowing to business pressure and the turmoil unleashed, the White House clarified that the fee would not apply to current H-1B visa holders or petitions filed before September 21. Sunday's clarification, through an H-IB FAQ posted on the White House website, offered some relief to existing visa holders, but it also carried ominous signals about what lies ahead.