H-1b Norm

Trump called H-1B visa very bad for Americans, his company applied for one

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 .

Initial registration period for in-demand H-1B visas to close on March 22

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

USCIS launches new system related to H1-B registrations, petitions

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a statement on Wednesday announced the launch of myUSCIS organisational accounts

US hikes fees for various non-immigrant visas like H-1B, EB-5, and others

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

USCIS unveils H-1B programme reforms for FY 2025, streamlines processes

The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open on March 6, 2024, and run through March 22, 2024

Trump's H-1B ban expires: What this means for Indian IT professionals

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

New rules for H-1B visa mild negative for Indian IT services: ICRA

The proposed changes in H-1B application selection process are prospective in nature but will have a minor adverse impact on the margins of Indian IT services companies, ICRA said

More curbs on H1-B & L-1 visas likely as US Homeland seeks to tweak norms

The changes may see the introduction of additional requirements to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders

Jaishankar says Indians hold 93% of H4 visas in US despite rise in denials

Jaishankar said the ability of spouses to work was introduced in 2015 and Indians today account for 93% of the total number of visas issued in this category

No plan to cap H1-B visas, Pompeo will assure India: US Official

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 ...