The news of the US to offer ease in H-1B visa renew rules comes after the Indian Prime Minister’s visit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his visit to the United States of America. And while he’s there, it has come to the news that the Biden administration will soon announce ease in H-1B visa renewal rules for some Indians.
What’s the News About?
The State Department should soon announce that a small number of Indian workers along with other foreign workers would be able to renew their H-1B visa without needing to travel abroad. This is a part of a pilot program which would expand in the near future.
Though it is not clear how many Indian workers would benefit, it is still good news.
Every year, the United States Government issues thousands of H-1B visas to skilled workers from all over the world. In 2022 alone, out of the total 442,000 H-1B workers in the US, Indians held a share of 73% workers in it.
H-1B visas are valid for 3 years but they can also be renewed for another 3 years.
What does the US say?
A US official said on this matter, “…The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things.” When asked, a State Department spokesperson declined to reveal which types of visas would be under the pilot program or when the pilot program would launch. Though the plans for this program were first reported in Bloomberg Law in February, 2023.
And since the US is already working on removal of backlogs in visa processing, this news gives more hope to free up resources. If the foreign workers are allowed to renew their visas while being in the US, they wouldn’t have to go through visa interviews again. Hence, saving time and resources for interviews of consultants abroad.
The Biden administration has been working hard to ease visa access for Indians, and develop strong diplomatic relations between the two largest democracies of the world.
And since Washington stopped the visa processing of almost all visas back in March of 2020 due to the pandemic, the backlogs kept piling up. Moreover, it led to the separation for some families for too long.
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