Indian IT Fears US H-1B Moves: Economic Times

The United States, in efforts to slow legal immigration, is planning changes for the H-1B visa process that allows skilled workers from around the world to work in the United States. One regulation would “mandate employers to register without paying the H-1B visa fees of those employees they intend to sponsor” and a “lottery system would shortlist people for the work permit.” About 70 percent of H-1B visas went to applicants from India and about 10 percent to those from China in 2015. Indian IT firms are reporting higher rejection rates for their applications under the “America first” policies of the Trump administration. The regulations will be subjected to public review before being finalized. Another change, announced in the US Federal Register, requires means testing and "self-sufficiency," barring applicants who require public assistance or fail to meet income standards. The rule requires immigrants to be “self-sufficient.” About 800,000 green cards were issued in 2016 and the changes could reduce that number by more than half, reports the Migration Policy Institute. H-1B visas last three years and can be renewed once. – YaleGlobal