The US
administration on June 25th, 2020, stated that they were extending the 60-days ban on
immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. Popular work
visas including the much-coveted H-1B and H-2B, and certain categories of H-4,
J, and L visas shall also remain suspended until December 31, 2020. This
decision was taken to protect the domestic workers who have lost their jobs
amidst the pandemic, leading to high levels of unemployment.
H-1B visa
is mainly for the high-skilled workers and has a validity of up to 6 years. 70%
of the total H-1B visas are issues to Indians each year. This visa is for
specialty occupations, including fashion models of an equivalent merit,
government researchers, etc. H-2B visa is for seasonal and non-agricultural
laborers, having a validity of 3 years. Approximately 66,000 such visas are
issued per year. J visa is for cultural and educational exchange students and
their dependents. L visas are for managers and other key personnel of MNCs and
their dependents.
There has
been a continuous on-going debate about the technology industry with regards to
the H-1B visa holders. The debated opinions are if the tech companies fail to
find the needed talent in their domestic space or; if the required skilled
manpower is present in the domestic space but, they hire people from outside
the US because the labor is comparatively cheap and thus, reduces the cost to
the company. One point which would support the first point is that, even after
the visa ban, the number of people filing for unemployment in the US has risen
consecutively. In the week ending on July 30, 1.43 million people filed for
unemployment, due to the pandemic.
Some of the many companies who employee most
of the H-1B visa holders are Capgemini, TCS, Apple, Google, Facebook, etc.
Companies from the silicon valley including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook
also released statements criticizing the white house’s decision. These
companies hire the best talent from across the globe and the visa ban would
certainly not help them. NASSCOM, the trade body representing Indian IT
companies pointed out that the decision would end up hurting the US economy
itself.
Now,
there are two parts to the story, first being how it will impact the
international students in the US and secondly its impact on the immigrants
working in the US.
When we
talk about the students going to the US for further studies, the US government
had issued a statement saying the international students would have to return
to their home countries if the classes are conducted online. Firstly, more
than 20% of the students are not from the US. Secondly, there are a number of
businesses that rely on these students to earn their daily income. The Indian
students alone contribute about $8 Billion to the US economy per year. Also,
about 25% of students end up having their own start-ups which also contributes
a great bit to the economy. So, even though the online class might not hurt the
education, but it will definitely hurt the US economy and might also slow down
its recovery from the pandemic caused recession.
Most of the individuals affected by the ban are from the tech
industry, all of whom are generally very highly skilled and/or at very senior
positions at American companies.
The extended ban does not have a significant impact
in the near future because most U.S. consular posts are closed and visa
interview appointments are unavailable unless one can prove, that there is an
emergency. In India especially, consulates are expected to open only when there
is clear guidance from the government on the lockdown that was initiated in the
middle of March and has gone through several extensions.
While about 70% of the H-1B and L-1 visas are
granted to Indian nationals, this June Ban is unlikely to have a major, the immediate impact on Indian IT/ITeS companies as only a relatively small number
of H-1B employees will be affected.
The white house in mid-July allowed the dependents
of H-1B visa holders to return to the US by applying for the H-4 visa.
The Indian government had also planned to talk to the
US government about two major topics at the totalisation agreement; first being
dual security taxation and other being the issue of the visa suspension by the
white house. The talk would take place amongst commerce minister Mr. Piyush
Goyal and US secretary of commerce, Mr. Wilbur Ross. The totalisation agreement
would benefit the H-1B holders and the Indian-origin professionals especially
those, working in the silicon valley.
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