US Plans To Ease H-1B Visa Renewal Protocol For Indian Workers Amid PM Modi's Visit

As per media reports, the official announcement by the State Department could come as soon as Thursday.

According to sources, following the new rules, a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew those visas in the US, without having to travel abroad.

This initiative is now considered as a part of a pilot program that could be expanded in coming years.

As per government data, Indian citizens are by far the most active users of the US H-1B program and made up 73% of the nearly 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022.

Official statement from US

"We all recognize that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us," said another U.S. 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."

"The pilot would begin with a small number of cases with the intention to scale the initiative over the following one to two years," the spokesperson said, while declining to define small.

The ability for some of the temporary foreign workers to renew visas in the U.S. would free up resources for visa interviews in consulates abroad, the spokesperson said.

The steps for implementing the new rules?are not finalized until they are announced.

About the H-1B visa

It has been reported that every year the US government issues?65,000 H-1B visas for?companies seeking skilled foreign workers, along with an additional 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees.

The visas last for three years and can be renewed for another three years.

According to US government data, the list of the companies using the most H-1B workers in recent years include the Indian-based Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services as well as Amazon, Alphabet and Meta in the US.

The pilot program would also include some workers with L-1 visas, which are available to people transferring within a company to a position in the U.S., one of the sources said.