Indians will get over a million US visas this year:

Official Employers in the United States may get access to foreign employees with specialised theoretical or technical knowledge by sponsoring them for an H-1B visa, a nonimmigrant visa.

A senior official said that the United States is scheduled to award more than a million visas to Indians this year. The Biden administration is determined this summer to ensure that it processes all student visas for Indians whose schools begin this autumn.

Donald Lu, the US State Department's assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, told PTI this week that the government prioritises work visas like the H-1B and L visas popular among Indian IT workers.

Employers in the United States may get access to foreign employees with specialised theoretical or technical knowledge by sponsoring them for an H-1B visa, a nonimmigrant visa.

Companies in the IT industry rely on it to bring in thousands of new personnel from places like India and China every year.

Over a million visas will be issued this year, which is expected to grow. "This, along with the record number of student and immigrant visas, is a new high for us," Lu said.

Lu assured us that this summer, the United States will process every Indian student visa for the next academic year.

The lengthy processing time for first-time visa applicants, particularly those seeking under the B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories, has been a significant concern in India.

The number of Indian students studying in the United States has surpassed that of any other country.

Work visas, such as the H-1B and the L, have also been our top priority. The processing period for these visas at several of our Indian consulate offices is currently less than 60 days. Worker visas will remain a top priority for us since they are important to the American and Indian economies," Lu added.

We intend to resume domestic visa renewal for applicants meeting certain conditions, including physical presence in the United States, for certain petition-based nonimmigrant work visas. Later this year, we want to launch a pilot. "This would prevent them from leaving the country to renew their visas," he said.

In response to a query on laid-off Indian IT employees on H-1B visas, Lu said that the Department of Homeland Security had issued updated guidance for such individuals.

He added that both major parties in the United States support the partnership between India and the United States.

The United States is home to a sizable diaspora population, which may be key to understanding the problem.

More than a million annual passengers are on flights connecting the two nations.

Given how far apart we are, it is an incredible sum. The cost of round-trip airfare is prohibitive. However, many who have relocated here or trace their ancestry back to India still maintain such links. He said that immigration had not reduced their numbers.

Recent estimates put the number of Americans in India at around 100,000. We both have a lot to gain from this connection. Yeah. Political parties are like American families in that respect. I had a lot of Indian American friends while I was growing up. That's exactly how the United States is built," Lu remarked.