H-1B visas: Indian techies, IT firms fret as Donald Trump orders US visa review

IN BRIEF

⇒ Indians awaiting US work visas ponder next move

⇒ Trump policies raise fears about future complications

⇒ Some Indian IT companies reducing visa applications

⇒ Immigration lawyers see spike in inquiries

For Grishma, an Indian software designer, President Donald Trump’s review of the visa programme for bringing highly-skilled workers into the US comes at a bad time.

Fresh from gaining a master’s degree in Europe, and with an offer of employment from a well-known US design firm, she was well on her way to fulfilling the ambition of many young Indian IT workers – a dream job in the US.

But as she waits in the H-1B visa queue for the green light, she is caught in a bind.

“It’s a weird time to be applying, with all the scrutiny,” said Grishma, who gave only her first name for fear of jeopardising her chances of getting a visa.

The US has already suspended the “expedited processing option” for applicants, under which she may have received a visa in weeks.

More broadly, uncertainty over the review announced this week has unsettled Grishma and many others like her.

She will have to wait until at least around August to learn her fate, but having accepted the US job offer she …read more