A Relief For Indians As US Drops Changes In H1-B Proposal

The US authorities today said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal in its H1-B visa policies that will force the holders to leave the country, reported PTI.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made the announcement days after were reports that the Trump administration was considering a tightening of the H1-B visa rules deporting 7,50,000 Indians.

Reports say that there US government was mulling ending extensions. The USCIS "is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing the interpretation of section certain language in Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) statute that states that USCIS may grant the extensions," an official said. This would provide an extension for H1-B holders to beyond 6 years.

"Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead," Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at the USCIS, said in a statement.

"The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment-based visa programmes," Withington said.