Rebooting Indo-U.S. Tech Ties

With Biden as President, India’s eyes will be on the way the new administration deals with H-1B visa rules.

- Som Mittal

President Joe Biden takes over at a critical juncture for the world economy and America. Policy analysts and economists are busy debating what will be the direction for the Biden administration, will he take bold steps and undo the acrimonious policies and messaging of his predecessor or will the changes be more gradual and some hard to undo. Immigration is one such issue which creates much emotion and always takes centre stage in the presidential elections. While it affects different interest groups, for India the debate is mainly about H-1B/L1 visa—a non-immigrant visa, meant for mobility of highly skilled individuals.

Over the years the debate for comprehensive immigration reforms continues to elude any legislative discussion. These reforms would address general immigration, families, highly skilled, temporary work permits, green cards, citizenship, etc. A divided House and Senate and many diverse political interests have prevented this in the past, leading to frequent tweaking of laws and extensive use of administrative orders to bypass the legislative process.