US TO INTRODUCE DOMESTIC WORK VISA RENEWAL PROGRAMME IN DEC, INDIANS TO BENEFIT MOST

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US firms to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise

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In a step poised to advantage a substantial number of Indian technology professionals, the United States is scheduled to initiate a pilot program for the domestic renewal of specific categories of H-1B visas in December. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that enables U.S. firms to hire foreign workers for specialized occupations demanding theoretical or technical expertise.

Technology firms depend on it to hire tens of thousands of workers annually from nations like China and India. The pilot programme which will be limited to 20,000 participants initially comes months after the White House announced the plan during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June.

In an interview with the media, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said, “In India, the demand (for US visas) is still very high. The wait time of six, eight and 12 months is not what we need and (it is) not indicative of how we view India.”

“We want to make sure that Indian travellers can get appointments as quickly as possible. One way we are doing that is through the domestic visa renewal programme, which is focused very much on India. We are piloting that,” she said.