Indian IT companies have dramatically reduced their H-1B visa filings and foreign nationals are exhibiting reluctance to make the jump to a US company due to the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration stance, a top Silicon Valley newspaper has said.

San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board has said applicants for the H-1B visa programme are anticipating the hardest process in many years.

"That's affected both the applicants and the companies that employ them," it said.&nbsp

"Indian consulting firms, which have been accused of flooding the system with applications, have dramatically reduced their filings. Foreign nationals are exhibiting new reluctance to make the jump to a US company," the paper said as the process for filing H-1B visa application for the 2019 fiscal beginning October 1, kicked off.

This year the number of H-1B applications received dropped to 1,99,000 from 2,36,000 in 2017.&nbsp

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.&nbsp

The Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration stance is taking its toll, the daily said.

Envoy Global, a technology-oriented immigration services provider, reports that 26 per cent of employers it surveyed have had to delay projects, and 22 per cent of them have relocated work overseas as a result of the current uncertainties in the US immigration system, San Francisco Chronicle said.

The daily argued that study after study has shown that foreign-born workers are good for the US economy and good for US-born workers.

"When companies are allowed to hire the workers with the best skills for the job -- regardless of where those workers happen to have been born -- their increased competitiveness boosts all the industries around them," it said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, evidence suggests market demand for H-1B visas is ebbing.

Daniel Culbertson, the economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, says "searches related to the H-1B visa, as a share of all searches on Indeed.com, have consistently declined through 2017 and into 2018. In February 2018, searches for H-1B as a share of all searches on our site are down nine percent from 2017."&nbsp

"This also marks the thirteenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. The decreased interest in H-1B related work from job seekers is a trend, not a temporary shift in preferences," he added.&nbsp

The Wall Street Journal said corporations continue to struggle with a paradoxical labour market where 548,000 tech jobs remain open while unemployment in the technology sector hovers below full employment levels.

"There are lots of jobs, but not enough workers to fill them," it said.&nbsp

This year the number of H-1B applications received dropped to 1,99,000 from 2,36,000 in 2017.

Indian IT companies have dramatically reduced their H-1B visa filings and foreign nationals are exhibiting reluctance to make the jump to a US company due to the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration stance, a top Silicon Valley newspaper has said. San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board has said applicants for the H-1B visa programme are anticipating the hardest process in many years. "That's affected both the applicants and the companies that employ them," it said. "Indian consulting firms, which have been accused of flooding the system with applications, have dramatically reduced their filings. Foreign nationals are exhibiting new reluctance to make the jump to a US company," the paper said as the process for filing H-1B visa application for the 2019 fiscal beginning October 1, kicked off. This year the number of H-1B applications received dropped to 1,99,000 from 2,36,000 in 2017. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration stance is taking its toll, the daily said. Envoy Global, a technology-oriented immigration services provider, reports that 26 per cent of employers it surveyed have had to delay projects, and 22 per cent of them have relocated work overseas as a result of the current uncertainties in the US immigration system, San Francisco Chronicle said. The daily argued that study after study has shown that foreign-born workers are good for the US economy and good for US-born workers. "When companies are allowed to hire the workers with the best skills for the job -- regardless of where those workers happen to have been born -- their increased competitiveness boosts all the industries around them," it said. According to The Wall Street Journal, evidence suggests market demand for H-1B visas is ebbing. Daniel Culbertson, the economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, says "searches related to the H-1B visa, as a share of all searches on Indeed.com, have consistently declined through 2017 and into 2018. In February 2018, searches for H-1B as a share of all searches on our site are down nine percent from 2017." "This also marks the thirteenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. The decreased interest in H-1B related work from job seekers is a trend, not a temporary shift in preferences," he added. The Wall Street Journal said corporations continue to struggle with a paradoxical labour market where 548,000 tech jobs remain open while unemployment in the technology sector hovers below full employment levels. "There are lots of jobs, but not enough workers to fill them," it said.

Indian companies dramatically reduced H-1B visa filing: Report

Washington DC: The process of filing petitions for H-1B visa has begun amidst unprecedented scrutiny by United States President Donald Trump`s administration.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is the federal agency responsible to process the visas, has indicated that there will be zero tolerance for even minor errors.

H-1B is considered as the most sought-after work visa among highly-skilled Indian professionals.

It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Earlier in March, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had announced that it will temporarily suspended the premium processing for the H-1B visa."The USCIS will begin accepting applications for the fiscal year 2019 (October 2018 to September 2019) from April 2.

The suspension will last until September 10,&nbsp;the body had said "This temporary suspension will help us reduce overall H-1B processing times. By temporarily suspending premium processing, we will be able to process long-pending petitions, which we have currently been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the past few years," the USCIS added.

The Donald Trump administration recently announced a new measure, making the approval of H-1B visa more tougher.

As per the new policy, any company will have to make one more clarification to prove that its H-1B employee at a third-party worksite has specific and non-qualifying speculative assignments in a speciality occupation.

The updated policy is a part of Trump`s "Buy American and Hire American" Executive Order, which directs to protect the interests of US workers.

According to the US administration officials, the scrutiny is needed to ensure the integrity of the controversial visa programme, which according to critics has cost American jobs.

It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise

Washington DC: The process of filing petitions for H-1B visa has begun amidst unprecedented scrutiny by United States President Donald Trump`s administration. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is the federal agency responsible to process the visas, has indicated that there will be zero tolerance for even minor errors. H-1B is considered as the most sought-after work visa among highly-skilled Indian professionals. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Earlier in March, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had announced that it will temporarily suspended the premium processing for the H-1B visa."The USCIS will begin accepting applications for the fiscal year 2019 (October 2018 to September 2019) from April 2. The suspension will last until September 10, the body had said "This temporary suspension will help us reduce overall H-1B processing times. By temporarily suspending premium processing, we will be able to process long-pending petitions, which we have currently been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the past few years," the USCIS added. The Donald Trump administration recently announced a new measure, making the approval of H-1B visa more tougher. As per the new policy, any company will have to make one more clarification to prove that its H-1B employee at a third-party worksite has specific and non-qualifying speculative assignments in a speciality occupation. The updated policy is a part of Trump`s "Buy American and Hire American" Executive Order, which directs to protect the interests of US workers. According to the US administration officials, the scrutiny is needed to ensure the integrity of the controversial visa programme, which according to critics has cost American jobs.

Toughest-ever H-1B visa application process begins amid unprecedented scrutiny

non-immigrant-visa

Non Immigrant Visa, News on Non Immigrant Visa, stories on Non Immigrant Visa, articles on Non Immigrant Visa, Non Immigrant Visa stories at Wion, Non Immigrant Visa news, Non Immigrant Visa latest news

non immigrant-visa

Indian companies dramatically reduced H-1B visa filing: Report

Toughest-ever H-1B visa application process begins amid unprecedented scrutiny