Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
International

No Restrictions On H-1B Visa: US official

IANS, 14 Sep, 2017 12:32 PM
  • No Restrictions On H-1B Visa: US official
A senior US official on Thursday sought to allay India’s concerns on the H-1B visa programme, which is being “reviewed” by the Trump administration, saying there are no “restrictions” in place.
 
The official said around 70 per cent of the visas issued under the H-1B category over the past nine months have gone to Indians and that a record 1.2 million visas of Indians were adjudicated by the US last year.
 
The year-over-year increase in terms of issuance of H-1B visas and L1 visas (work permit) to Indians is six per cent each, the official said.
 
“The President (Donald Trump) spoke about review. There are no restrictions but it (H-1B) is under review,” he said, adding the issue was not on the agenda for the upcoming Indo- US bilateral dialogue on consular relations, but it may come up in the course of the talks.
 
The issue of the repealing of the Deferred Action for Children Arrival (DACA) programme, which has hit more than 7,000 Indian-Americans, may also figure in the talks scheduled to be held on September 27 in Washington.
 
Trump had signed an executive order in April for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop “visa abuses”.
 
The DACA amnesty programme granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children.
 
The official also said the US processed around 88,000 student visa applications last year, which is an increase of 15 per cent over 2015. Currently, there are around 1.6 lakh Indian students in the US, which is the second highest number of international students, after China.
 
Indian citizens made up six per cent of worldwide immigrant visa applicants, making them the fifth largest group of new immigrants after those from China, Philippines, Dominican Republic and Mexico.
 
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. Indian technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year for their US operations. 

MORE International ARTICLES

Indian-Origin Councillor Gurpal Atwal Banned As Taxi Driver In UK For Indecent Behaviour

Indian-Origin Councillor Gurpal Atwal Banned As Taxi Driver In UK For Indecent Behaviour
Gurpal Atwal swore and made racist comments to a man as well as using unlicenced drivers to ferry children to school

Indian-Origin Councillor Gurpal Atwal Banned As Taxi Driver In UK For Indecent Behaviour

Mumbai Woman Biker Tries To Avoid Pothole, Gets Crushed By Truck

Mumbai Woman Biker Tries To Avoid Pothole, Gets Crushed By Truck
Jagruti Viraj Hogale, 34, and two other women were heading from Bandra to Jawhar, a popular tourist spot know for its waterfalls, on a weekend getaway, said Mumbai police

Mumbai Woman Biker Tries To Avoid Pothole, Gets Crushed By Truck

Canada Says No Threat To Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, Closes Investigation

Canada Says No Threat To Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, Closes Investigation
Citing non-availability of “sufficient evidence”, the Canadian government has told India that there is no threat to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and has concluded its investigation into the matter.

Canada Says No Threat To Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, Closes Investigation

Indian Man Convicted Of Using Fake Identity To Get US Citizenship

Indian Man Convicted Of Using Fake Identity To Get US Citizenship
An Indian man has been convicted of using fake identity to obtain American citizenship, an immigration official has said.

Indian Man Convicted Of Using Fake Identity To Get US Citizenship

Kotkhai Rape Case: Australian Woman Starts Online Petition

Kotkhai Rape Case: Australian Woman Starts Online Petition
Led by a Kotkhai-origin woman Ruchika Chauhan--the victim too belonged to this place--the group initiated its campaign on July 14.

Kotkhai Rape Case: Australian Woman Starts Online Petition

Indian-American Doctor Sreedhar Potarazu Jailed For $49 Million Fraud

Indian-American Doctor Sreedhar Potarazu Jailed For $49 Million Fraud
An Indian-American doctor-cum-entrepreneur was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for defrauding his former company's shareholders of more than $49 million.

Indian-American Doctor Sreedhar Potarazu Jailed For $49 Million Fraud