Biden Administration To Ease Visa Restrictions For Skilled Indian Workers In The US — Report

Three sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit this week, the Biden administration plans to facilitate the entry or stay of skilled Indian workers in the US.

According to one of the sources, the State Department may announce as early as Thursday that a "small" number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew their visas in the US without having to travel abroad. This is part of a pilot programme that could be expanded in the future.

In fiscal year 2022, Indian citizens accounted for 73 per cent of the nearly 442,000 H-1B workers, making them the most active users of the US H-1B programme.

"We all recognize that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us," said another US official. "And so our goal is to approach that in a sort of multifaceted way. The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things."

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that the pilot would commence with a small number of cases, with the intention of expanding the initiative over the next one to two years. However, they declined to specify what they meant by "small."

Every year, companies seeking skilled foreign workers can access 65,000 H-1B visas from the US government. Additionally, there are 20,000 visas available for workers with advanced degrees. These visas are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years.

According to data from the US government, some of the companies that have used the most H-1B workers in recent years include Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, both based in India, as well as Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta in the US.

One of the sources revealed that the pilot programme would also cover some workers with L-1 visas. These visas are available to individuals transferring within a company to a position in the US.

According to a source, US embassies in India are making progress in clearing a backlog of visa applications, which will be discussed during the delegations' meetings in Washington this week.

India has long been concerned about the difficulty its citizens face in obtaining visas to live in the US, particularly for technology industry workers.

The Biden administration has been working for months to improve visa access for Indians, attempting to bypass the lack of political will in Congress to comprehensively reform US immigration policy.

President Joe Biden is keen to strengthen the relationship between the world's two largest democracies, in part to better compete with China.