Indians to benefit as Biden opens US gates

The Biden administration has also frozen the rules requiring the selection of H-1B workers based upon the highest salary for 60 days till March 2021

Bengaluru: The Biden administration in the US has started unwinding many of the tough decisions relating to immigration norms that were taken by the US government under former President Donald Trump.

In an important decision on Wednesday, the new President Joe Biden decided to withdraw the proposed policy of not allowing the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US under H4 work permits. Around one lakh Indian spouses will benefit from such withdrawal as they can continue working in the North American nation.

"By some estimates, the largest group of immigrants in the US that would have been affected by the cancellation of H-4 EAD (employment authorisation documents) cards are Indian women. They can now breathe easy," said PoorviChotani, managing partner at Law Quest, an immigration law firm with offices in the US and India.

She, however, said that this is temporary relief as there is still a risk of a negative court ruling on this matter which is being pleaded in the US court.

Apart from providing some relief to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, the Biden administration has also frozen the rules requiring the selection of H-1B workers based upon the highest salary for 60 days till March 2021.

"This is part of the presidential directive to postpone effective dates by 60 days from the date of the inauguration. It is in keeping with the current administration's goal to review pending regulations and overturn harmful ones wherever possible," said Chotani of Law Quest.

The previous administration under the Trump administration had created a lot of administrative roadblocks in the last 18-24 months, making it increasingly difficult for Indian IT professionals to receive these kinds of temporary visas to work in the US.

With the undue delay in the processing of visa applications, the US government under Trump had also increased fees for applying for these work visas. To check the unemployment rates in the North American nation, Trump has also banned the entry of foreign workers under H-1B and L-1 visa till December of this year.

Amid such stringent measures, the share of Indian companies among the top 10 visa recipients has dropped from 51 per cent to 24 per cent during the 2016-19 periods.

However, experts believe that with Biden taking over the presidency, the Indian IT industry will see an easy immigration regime, favouring the movement of technology professionals to work on onsite projects.

This is because being part of the Obama administration earlier, Biden always has a lenient view towards allowing high-skilled individuals to work in the US. His campaign also stated that an immigration system that crowds out high-skilled workers in favour of only entry-level wages and skills threatens American innovation.