IT cos on cloud 9 as US logs out of Trump's H-1B legacy

Breather for Indian software industry

- Doland Trump had imposed restrictions on entry of temporary workers in the US till end of last year

- The ban was further extended till March 31, 2021, by Trump before he left office

- Biden administration has not issued any update, extension, or guidance with regard to this ban

- Indian IT firms have been employing more locals to reduce the dependency on H-1B visas

Bengaluru: Biden administration's decision not to extend the visa ban imposed by the previous US government will benefit the IT services companies in India. However, Indian IT firms may not be very keen on sending employees to the US owing to ongoing Covid pandemic.

Experts said that the lenient approach towards allowing temporary workers to work in the North American nation is expected to help the Indian IT industry in the medium term.

"The travel ban was set to expire on March 31, 2021. The Biden administration has not issued any update, extension, or guidance with regard to this ban. Hence, the travel ban no longer applies nor is it in effect as of April 1, 2021. This is good news for Indian IT companies, especially, as their US arms sponsor thousands of technology workers on H-1B visas. This means that applicants who were subject to the travel ban would now be able to apply for visas at US consulates subject to each consulate's current processes, Covid related limitations, and procedures," said said Poorvi Chotani, managing partner at Law Quest, an immigration law firm with offices in the US and India.

Previous US administration led by Doland Trump had imposed restrictions on entry of temporary workers in the US till end of last year due to higher unemployment rate.

This ban was further extended till March 31, 2021, by Trump before Trump left office.

Biden administration, which has a flexible approach towards allowing high-skilled workers to enter the US with H-1B visa permits, has not extended the ban.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Global technology firms widely use this option hire thousands of high-skilled engineers each year from countries like India. Indian IT companies are also major beneficiaries of this visa scheme.

After taking over as President, Joe Biden has brought in many administrative changes with regard to immigration. He has allowed the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US. The previous administration was planning to put restrictions on these kinds of visas (H4) which enables the spouses of temporary workers to pursue employment opportunities.

Similarly, Biden has frozen the proposal to do away with the current lottery system and adopt the wage-based H-1B visa permits. This is a welcome move as the adoption of wage-based visa approval could have increased the expenses of Indian IT firms.

Due to the difficulty faced by Indian IT firms in getting H-1B visa approvals over the years, they have been working assiduously to reduce dependency on such permits by employing more locals.

Most of the beneficiaries of the H-1B system currently are the US-based global technology giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Facebook, and many more. So, easing of temporary work permit norms is likely to benefit the global technology giants more than the Indian IT firms.