US: H1B VISA PROGRAMME REVISION ON THE CARDS

REVIEW Proposal to force companies to go with American workers

The Donald Trump administration has reiterated its plans to redefine “speciality occupation” for skilled foreign workers who US companies seek to hire under the non-immigrant H-1B visa programme that has been immensely popular with Indian IT companies and professionals.

INDIAN COMPANIES AND IT PROFESSIONALS HAVE BEEN MAJOR BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROGRAMME, CORNERING MORE THAN 70% OF THE 65,000 VISAS THAT THE US GRANTS TO FOREIGNERS

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has reiterated once again its plans to redefine “speciality occupation” for skilled foreign workers who US companies seek to hire under the non-immigrant H-1B visa programme that has been immensely popular with Indian IT companies and professionals.

The department of homeland security (DHS), which oversee the agency that runs the programme, has also expressed the intention to implement other measures that the Trump administration has been considering to ensure.

Indian companies and IT professionals have been major beneficiaries of the programme cornering more than 70% of the 65,000 visas that the US grants to foreigners hired abroad every year and an additional 20,000 to foreign students passing out of US colleges and universities with advanced degrees.

The DHS proposes “to revise the definition of specialty occupation to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals” via the H-1B programme, the agency said in the Fall 2018 Unified Agenda, a twiceyearly summary and plans of the federal government, published Wednesday.

It also proposes to “revise the definition of employment and employer-employee relationship to better protect US workers and wages.” The purpose of these changes, it added, was to “ensure that H-1B visas are awarded only to individuals who will be working in a job which meets the statutory definition of specialty occupation”. Among other proposals, and reiterated, in the Unified Agenda, was the elimination of work authorisation for spouses of H-1B holders who are waiting for their Green Card (permanent residency, which is a step away from citizenship), a programme that also mainly benefits Indian workers. Another change proposed in the agenda, and slated for early implementation, is to require employers planning to hire capmandated H-1B workers — 85,000 — to register with authorities before hand. And only those picked will then go on to submit completed H-1B applications. Redefining “speciality occupation” to raise the bar for those eligible for H-1Bs, raising salaries for foreign workers and some other measures, it has been argued, would force American companies, including local affiliates of Indians IT giants such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro, to go with American workers

The Trump administration first proposed the redefinition in the Unified Agenda for Fall 2017, which was released around the same time last year, using the same language.

The target date for implementing it was October 2018, which the administration missed, without ascribing any reasons for it.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS agency that directly administers the H-1B programme, refused to discuss timelines or proposals.

“USCIS can’t comment on alleged proposals until they are made public,” an official said on background. “We continue to review all employment-based visa programs, including H-1B. Any proposed regulatory changes will not be final until the rulemaking process is complete and the published rule takes effect.”

USCIS’s Michael Bars, a spokesperson, said, “The administration has been relentlessly pursuing merit-based policy and regulatory immigration reforms, including a thorough review of H-1Bs and employment based visa programmes so they benefit the American people to the greatest extent possible in fulfillment of the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order.” Changing the definition “has great potential to reform the programme”, said Sarah Pierce, an expert with the Migration Policy Institute, a leading US think tank. “However,” she added, “there are a lot of factors in these definitions that are set by statute (the Immigration and Nationality Act, the overarching law), which the administration cannot change without the approval of Congress.” Talking on the issue at a news briefing on Thursday external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said :

“It’s (H-1B visa programme) a very important topic for us that we have taken up time and again at various levels with the US.Most recently, it was discussed during the 2+2 talks and we are engaged with both the administration and the Congress on this issue,” said Kumar. “I think what we get to hear are the provisions from those bills, but it is important to note that none of these bills have been passed so far,” he said.

“Our partnership in the digital sphere has been mutually beneficial. Indian professionals have contributed to the growth of the US economy and given the US an edge in innovations and science and technology. We will continue to raise the issue,” said Kumar.