India Cautions Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Hike May ‘Disrupt Families’...
byClear News-
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India Cautions Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Hike May ‘Disrupt Families’
India’s Foreign Ministry says the Trump administration’s move to increase H1-B visa fees may have humanitarian consequences.
United States President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [File: Jim Watson and Sajjad Hussain/AFP]
In a statement on Saturday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi hopes the disruptions can be “addressed suitably” by the authorities in the US, adding that the full implications of the policy are being studied by the government.
A White House official said on Saturday that the one-time fee will only apply to new visas and not to current visa holders or renewals.
H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialised skills – such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers – to work in the US, initially for three years, but extendable to six years.
India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71 percent of approved applicants.
Earlier on Saturday, India’s leading trade body Nasscom said the one-day timeline for implementing the H-1B visa fee was a matter of “concern”.
Nasscom, representing India’s $283bn IT and business process outsourcing industry, said the policy’s abrupt rollout would affect Indian nationals and disrupt the continuity of ongoing onshore projects for the cotechnology service.
“A one-day deadline creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world,” Nasscom said in a statement, a day after Trump announced the fee, which comes into force on Sunday.
