In a breather for Indian techies, the US authorities on Tuesday said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the country.
The announcement was made by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which runs the H-1B visa program. "The USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing interpretation of section certain language in Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit," said Jonathan Withington, chief of media relations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security.
There were reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of over 7,50,000 Indians. The reports had also stated that the administration was mulling ending extensions for H-1B holders as well. These reports had created an anxiety among the H-1B workers. A large number of Indians are employed with some of America's top IT companies and their future hung.
The H-1B program, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, was intended to allow American companies to hire foreign workers with specialized skills. More than half of the H-1B visas have been awarded to Indian nationals and any changes in this will have an impact on that community of foreign workers.
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