Web Desk
US President Donald Trump said that he would be signing an Executive Order introducing restrictions on H-1B,L-1, and other temporary work permits on June 22 as part of his effort to curb immigration and help local employment in the country.
This move would impact several thousands of Indians who were scheduled to go to the US on October 1, 2020 if their petitions would have been approved. Nearly 70% of the 85,000 visas issued each year are to Indians. Immigration lawyers said that the move was unlikely to impact visa holders who are already in the US at this time, and that the restrictions could remain in place till the end of the year.
This would also impact US tech firms more than Indian services companies, who, over the last few years have reduced their dependence on H-1B visas and started hiring more locally. The share of US firms like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft has been rising steadily. In fiscal 2019, seven of the top ten recipients of H-1B visas were US companies.
The share of Indian companies among the top ten visa recipients has dropped from 51% to 24% from 2016-2019, according to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
