A few weeks ago, as a heady blue-versus-red vote count was underway, punctuated by see-sawing percentage points, halfway across the globe to elect arguably the world’s most powerful political leader, many Indian and Indian-Americans were on tenterhooks.
In October, the outgoing Donald Trump administration proposed yet another series of obstacles to the H-1B visa process, a popular way for Indians to immigrate into America. It hopes to do away with the computerised lottery system, which is a random selection process, and replace it with a wage-based system in which applicants will be selected based on salary levels.
This is the latest in a series of attacks against the H-1B programme, including a suspension on the entry of foreign workers (and therefore, issuance of new immigrant visas) until the end of the year that Trump announced in June.
However, Trump was not the only obstacle. Let’s break it down.
What’s going on with the H-1B?
According to the new rules, the wage criteria for those coming to the US on an H-1B visa, which is widely used by technology companies to hire skilled Indian workers, has been significantly increased by the Department of Labor (DOL). Later in the month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the announcement of doing away with the lottery, in a statement titled ‘DHS, Trump Administration Protect American Jobs from Unfair International Competition’.
This story is from the December 4, 2020 edition of Forbes India.
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This story is from the December 4, 2020 edition of Forbes India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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