The US has decided to cancel the 'H1B' visa category, foreign media reports. This visa category is very popular among foreigners looking for jobs in the US, and Asians, led by Indians, benefit the most from it.
Currently, certain foreign workers employed in the 'H1B' visa category are given a 60-day period to find another job in the event of job loss. The proposed amendments are set to abolish that relief prematurely. Accordingly, a foreigner holding an 'H1B' visa category will have to leave the US immediately if he loses his job.
The proposal for this is already being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
If this new proposal becomes law, it will severely hamper the ability of foreign nationals who lose their jobs and those who are employed in the United States and their dependents to switch to another U.S. employer or change their visa category.
Indians are the majority of H-1B visa holders, and according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 71% of all H-1B visa applications approved in 2024 were from Indians.
The number of people of Indian origin living in the United States already exceeds 5.2 million.