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H-1B Norm
The recent tightening of the H-1B visa regime in the United States is only a temporary setback, and the cost advantage Indian tech professionals offer is bound to bring them around, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said. Naidu, who is credited with having the vision of developing Hyderabad as a cyber hub two decades ago when most didn't see the huge opportunities lying in the technology sector, said Indian tech professionals continue to be in high demand across geographies as they offer a strong mix of advanced skills and cost advantages. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for the most Indian tech professionals going to the US on H1-B visas. President Donald Trump recently imposed a sweeping overhaul of the H-1B visa programme, which allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialised occupations, by introducing a USD 1 lakh supplemental fee for new visa petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025. While Trump had argued the fee hike was to curb .
An American lawmaker will be introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme and take away the pathway to citizenship that it offers, forcing individuals to "return home when their visa expires. My dear fellow Americans, I'm introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme, which has been riddled with fraud and abuse and has been displacing American workers for decades, Congresswoman from Gerogia, Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a video posted on X on Thursday. She said that there will only be one exemption in her bill, which will allow for a 10,000 per year cap on visas issued to medical professionals like doctors and nurses who provide life-saving care to Americans. Greene however noted that even this 10,000 per year cap will be phased out over 10 years to allow us time to build our own pipeline of American doctors and physicians. Greene added that her bill will also take away the pathway to citizenship, forcing visa holders to return home when
The social media company founded by former President Donald Trump applied for a business visa program that he sought to restrict during his administration and which many of his allies want him to curtail in a potential second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, filed an application in June 2022 for an H-1B visa for a worker at a USD 65,000 annual salary, the lowest wage category allowed under the program. Federal immigration data shows the company was approved for a visa a few months later. The company says it did not hire the worker. Filing for the visa sets the image of Trump the candidate, who has proposed a protectionist agenda for companies to hire American, in conflict with Trump the businessman, who has said his companies will use every tool at their disposal. Records show the investment firm started by Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, also filed an application and was approved to hire a foreigner as an associate .
The initial registration period for the H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, for fiscal 2025 closes on March 22, a federal agency has said. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The initial registration period for the most sought-after H-1B visas for foreign guest workers for fiscal 2025 closes at 12 noon Eastern Time (9:30 pm IST) on March 22, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Monday. During this period, prospective petitioners and legal representatives must use an online account of US Citizenship and Immigration Services to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. Online account users will also be ab
The US has announced a steep increase in fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas like the H-1B, L-1 and EB-5, the most popular among Indians. The fee hike, first after 2016, will come into force from April 1. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The EB-5 programme, launched by the US government in 1990, enables high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a US visa for themselves and their families by investing a minimum of USD 5,00,000 in a US business that helps create 10 jobs for American workers. To come into force from April 1, the new H-1B application visa fee, which is form I-129, has been increased from USD 460 to USD 780. The H-1B registration will increase from USD 10 to USD 215, but from next year. The fee for L-1 vis
The US issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year. Most of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders are from India and China
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will assure the Indian leadership during his visit to India next week that the Trump administration has no plans to impose a cap on issuing the highly sought-after H-1B visas that are forcing foreign companies to store data locally, an American official said Friday. The H-1B visa, popular among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. "Indians have contributed under the H-1B programme to the US economy, and I think the Secretary will be able to assure the Indian leadership that we have no plans to place caps on H-1B work visas for nations that are having foreign companies store data locally," a Senior State Department official told reporters during a conference call. Previewing the trip of Pompeo who will be visiting India from June 25 to June 27, the official said there was a broad review of the H-1B programme ...