President Joe Biden plans to allow a ban on H1-B visas imposed by Trump to expire. The ban enacted by former president Trump was to keep the coronavirus pandemic under control. The move that would affect temporary workers is set to expire on Wednesday.
Biden’s decision to let the visa ban expire would be a relief to several tech firms that rely on temporary labour comprising of coders and engineers. Executives have grown frustrated that the directive was not immediately revoked, arguing it hurt US companies, a Reuters report reads.
Since taking office, Biden has rescinded several of his predecessor’s policies on immigration, including revocation of a proclamation that blocked several immigrants from applying for the green card. Trump had argued that with protecting the nation from the pandemic, the move was necessary to protect the American economy.
“To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here,” Biden had said when he signed an executive order rolling back the directive.
In the meantime, the US has received enough electronic applications during the initial registration period to reach the 2022 fiscal year cap for the H1-B foreign workers visa, the most sought-after work visa among Indian professionals.
The H1-B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H1-B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.
--with PTI inputs
