The Trump Administration is thinking of making changes and restrict access to the US H1B visa. Many Indian software engineers use this route to go to the US. H1B is an easy way for IT graduates to work on big and globally recognized companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and startups.
Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority may not have become successful, but he now intends to revisit the US H1B visa policy.
India’s Economic Dependence on IT Outsourcing
IT Outsourcing is one of the major factors contributing to India’s fast economic growth. The IT Outsourcing industry of India approximately contributes 10% towards the GDP. IT outsourcing industry added $ 150 billion in revenue for the year 2016. And above all, information technology sector employees 3.7 million people in and outside India. The Indian IT Outsourcing industry had come a long way from a mere $ 8 billion in revenues in the year 2000 when it only offered 340,000 jobs.
Out of the $150 billion revenue generated by IT Outsourcing, it earned $105 billion overseas. India’s IT outsourcing industry foremost relies on two primary sources of income collected from the US and the UK. Both the UK and the US to introduce tougher immigration policies in the future.
US H1B Visa Applicants from India
The majority of the US H1B visa applicants belong to India. American companies say that there aren’t enough American workers who can bridge the demand and supply gap for skilled labor. If America changes its policy, either the US tech companies’ productivity will get affected, or the IT outsourcing jobs will go to India.
What is H1B Visa?
H1B is a non-immigration visa category through which temporary workers can go to the US to live and work there. In all such visas, an employee has to be offered a visa by an employer, and the employee has to apply for the H1B visa with the US Immigration Department.
Who is eligible for H1B Visa?
Anyone who wants to apply for an H1B visa must belong to a specific occupation having the desired level of practical and theoretical knowledge. The visa also requires the visa holder to have at least Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
