For now, relief on H1B visa
Still, there’s no telling what Trump will do in the future
The Trump administration’s decision to not follow through with a proposed change in the H-1B regime has brought cheer to between 500,000 and 750,000 Indians, mostly technology workers, and their families in the US. It has also come as a relief to the Indian government which had expressed concern when news of the plan broke. The
Trump administration proposed changing the rule to ensure that H1B visa holders could not stay on in the country while their residency application was being processed.
Indian technology workers power many US technology companies. Many of them are Indians who have become US citizens; and some are Green Card holders. Both have enough people who once held a H-1B visa. Then there are the current H-1B visa holders themselves. The contribution of such workers to the US economy is significant. Large Indian software companies, most of whose customers are in the US, also employ H-1B visa holders to power their operations, although their dependence on such workers has reduced in recent years. It is possible that the change, if the US had insisted on effecting it, would have affected all these companies, the competitiveness of the US tech industry, and the US economy itself. It would also, to some extent, have affected the Indian economy.
While there has been some misuse, the H-1B visa regime has, in general, been a win-win. It has benefited the technology workers themselves, but it has also benefited local (US) companies and the economy. Still, there’s no telling what the current US administration – President Donald Trump won on a protectionist, anti-immigration, US-jobs-for-Americans platform – will do. Even as they celebrate the US’ change of mind, this is likely to weigh on the minds of Indian technology workers currently in the US on a H-1B visa. Many will probably continue to weigh their options – some were said to be considering Canada. Meanwhile, India, which is keen to accelerate the growth of its own technology industry, would do well to see whether there is anything it can do to attract these, and other technology workers.