750,000 Indians Saved From Deportation – US Will Not Stop H-1B Visa Extension!

 

A potentially lethal plan of President Trump, which could have forced around 7.5 lakh Indians working the US to deport back to India, has been scrapped.

This is a huge, massive relief for not only Indians working with the H-1B visa, but also scores of IT companies in the US which are relying on immigrants for their work.

Interestingly, there has been no statement from President Trump on this matter.

H-1B Visa Extension Would Be Allowed

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency which oversees H-1B visa rules in the US has confirmed that H-1B visa would be extended as before, and there is nothing to worry about any immigrant working in the US.

Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at USCIS said, “…USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing our interpretation of section 104(c) of AC-21, which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit.”

Jonathan also Confirmed that even if the rule was changed, there is still a solution: Employers can use Section 106(a)-(b) of AC21, in order to trigger one-year extensions for their employees.

However, as the H-1B extension plan has been left as it it, there would be no requirement for using 106(a)-(b) of AC21.

Having said that, President Trump’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order would be executed as per the plan, and there shall be several other changes in the immigration policy which would result that.

He said, “The agency  (USCIS) is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programs.”

750,000 Indians Saved From Deportation

This announcement by USCIS has brought immense relief for 750,000 Indians, who were assuming a possible deportation, if that rule was passed.

President Trump had proposed that those applicants whose Green Card application is approved, will not be granted anty H-1B visa extension. Considering that the current backlog of processing Green Card will take atleast 70 years, this proposed rule meant end of journey for H1-B visa workers.

Immigration Voice, an advocacy body in San Jose, US had said that time: “If implemented this could lead to large-scale deportations, mostly of Indians, throwing hundreds and thousands of families into crisis.”

Now, after the announcement that this proposed visa rule won’t be implemented, Immigration Voice has expressed their delight.

In a statement, they said, “We are ECSTATIC to share this Breaking News”, adding, “USCIS has announced to us that it is retracting its policy to deny all H-1B visa through (beyond) year 6 based on section 104. This is a GREAT development. And we thank USCIS to make the right decision.”

We will keep you updated as newer rules regarding immigration and work visa are announced and updated by the US Govt.. Stay tuned!