US to ease H-1B visa rules for skilled Indian workers as PM Modi visits

The Biden administration will make it simpler for Indians to live and work in the United States by using this week's state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to aid some qualified employees in entering or remaining in the nation, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

According to one of the individuals, the State Department may announce as early as June 22, that a select group of Indians and other foreign employees on H-1B visas will be able to renew their visas domestically in the US as part of a trial programme that may be expanded in the next years.

Indian citizens are by far the most active users of the US H-1B program and made up 73 percent of the nearly 4,42,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022.

"We all recognise that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us," said another US official. "And so our goal is to approach that in a sort of multifaceted way. The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things."

A spokesman for the State Department declined to respond to inquiries regarding the eligibility of various visa classes or the launch date of the pilot programme. Bloomberg Law initially revealed the plans for a trial programme in February.

The steps could change and are not finalised until they are announced. The White House declined to comment.

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