What is H-1B visa and why Trump forced companies to pay Rs 88 lakh annually? H-1B visa fee hike is MAJOR setback for India because…

The H-1B visa, often simply referred to as H-1B, is a type of work visa that allows foreign professionals to work in the United States.

H-1B visa fee hike: US President Donald Trump on Friday hiked the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering $100,000 annually, a move which is expected to deeply impact Indian professionals, especially those working in the tech and IT sector, as they are the largest group of foreign workforce that use H-1B non-immigrant visa programme.

What is H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa, often simply referred to as H-1B, is a type of work visa that allows foreign professionals to work in the United States. H-1B visas, which are procured by companies for their foreign workforce, carry a validity of three to six years.

According to official figures, 65,000 H-1B visas are issued by the US each for general employment purposes, and an additional 20,000 for professionals who carry advanced degrees.

How H-1B visa fee hike is a setback for India?

According to experts, Trump’s move to hike the H-1B visa fees to a whopping $100,000 annually is a major setback for India as Indian professionals are biggest beneficiaries of the program, with about 71% of recipients last year being Indian citizens. Indians have a significant presence in US’ IT and tech sectors, most with high-paying jobs, allowing to send money back home that boost India forex reserves.

However, the new policy will force American firms to cut down foreign workforce, which would deal a severe blow to India’s forex reserves due to lesser remittances. Under Trump’s new policy, US companies will have to pay $100,000 (approximately Rs 88 lakh) for each foreign employee, making it more expensive and challenging for Indian professionals to travel to the US for work.

Why Trump changed H-1B visa rules?

Donald Trump’s move to hike H-1B visa fees is being viewed as an extension of his “America First” policy as his administration ramps up efforts to crack down on immigration. Experts believe that costly H-1B visas will force US firms to cut down on foreign workforce, and force them to hire US citizens at higher salaries, driving up operational costs.

Trump has also cited alleged ‘abuse’ of the H-1B programme a “national security threat” as he signed the proclamation restricting entry of certain non-immigrant workers.

The H-1B non-immigrant visa programme was created to bring temporary workers into the US to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour, Trump said in the proclamation.