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By Jessica Thakur
June 26, 2023
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the United States, the Biden administration is planning to announce measures to facilitate the residency and employment of skilled Indian workers in the country. According to sources familiar with the matter, the State Department could unveil a pilot program allowing a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas to renew their visas in the US without the need to travel abroad. This program, if successful, could be expanded in the coming years.
Indian citizens constitute the majority of users in the US H-1B program, accounting for 73% of the nearly 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022. Recognizing the value of mobility for their workforce, US officials have been working diligently to find innovative ways to bring about changes in visa policies. While the State Department has not commented on the specifics of the pilot program, a spokesperson confirmed that the initiative would commence with a small number of cases and could be scaled up over the next one to two years.
The implementation of the pilot program would alleviate the strain on visa interviews at consulates abroad by allowing some temporary foreign workers to renew their visas within the United States. It is expected that the program would cover workers with both H-1B and L-1 visas, the latter being available to individuals transferring within a company to a position in the US.
Additionally, efforts are underway to address the backlog of visa applications at US embassies in India. According to insiders, progress has been made on this front, and it is anticipated that discussions between the two countries' delegations in Washington this week will include this matter. India has long expressed concerns about the challenges its citizens face in obtaining visas to live and work in the United States, particularly in the technology industry.
The Biden administration has been actively working to improve visa access for Indians, bypassing the lack of political will in Congress to comprehensively reform US immigration policy. President Joe Biden aims to strengthen ties between the world's two largest democracies, partly as a means to enhance competitiveness vis-à-vis China.
It is worth noting that US visa services are still grappling with a backlog resulting from the suspension of almost all visa processing worldwide in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This backlog has caused extended periods of family separation and prompted individuals to share their plight on social media platforms.
As of now, the specific details of the pilot program and its timeline are yet to be announced. However, the move signifies the Biden administration's commitment to fostering collaboration and facilitating opportunities for skilled Indian workers in the United States.
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