Recall: The Expiry Of The H-1B Visa Ban

President Biden allowed a ban on the issuance of H-1B visas for skilled workers to lapse at the end of March 2021, a campaign promise last year — to pull the U.S. back from harsh immigration rules imposed by previous President Donald Trump.  

Biden’s action will have a significant and favorable impact on Indian nationals seeking employment with U.S. tech firms. Approximately, H-1B visa applications over 219,000 workers were likely blocked due to Mr. Trump’s proclamation last June. Trump aimed to prevent foreign workers from cornering jobs in the context of the economic distress associated with the pandemic.

This raised genuine questions about whether such rules would set back the U.S.-India relationship by impacting Indian IT services exported to the U.S.

These totaled estimated $29.7 billion in 2019, 3.0% ($864 million) more than 2018, and 143% greater than 2009 levels. CEOs of Silicon Valley protest the clampdown also; the universities filed lawsuits challenging a subsequent student visa ban last year.

In allowing the ban on H-1B visa issuance to expire, Biden has walked a fine line between restoring the inflow of skilled workers into the U.S., a source of productivity increases for its labour force, and not being seen as aggressive in unwinding Trump-era immigration policies.