The ‘not so glamourous’ homecoming of techies from the US

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started accepting new H-1B petitions for FY20 starting April 1. But for people who have had to make an untimely return due to an H-1B visa rejection, it is the end of the great American dream.

H-1B has for long been a gateway to a better quality of life and a secured comfortable future for scores of Indian techies. For Sankaran S*, who belongs to a lower middle-class family in Kerala, working in the US meant achieving his dream of buying a house for his ageing parents, and saving for his child’s education. For Nisha N, it was about securing a future so that she could pursue her passion of setting up a sports academy.

India accounts for the highest number of H-1B visas granted to skilled immigrant workers. Each year 85,000 new H-1B visas are issued and over one lakh get extended. According to a report by Recode.net, India and China accounted for 82 percent of all visas issued in 2016.

However, IT companies have allegedly been continuously abusing H-1B visas for years leading to visa violation cases. In 2017, Infosys was asked to pay $1 million to settle a visa violation case. In 2013, the IT major was caught in a $35 million visa fraud case.

This is one of the reasons why the Trump administration has been tightening the H-1B visa rules since 2017.

Based on the data released by the USCIS, five Indian IT firms including TCS and Wipro accounted for about 8,742 of the 13,177 H-1B extension petitions rejected from close to 30 technology firms.

This is clearly reflected in the thousands of software services employees who have had to return to their home country in the last couple of years.

Praveen Srinivas* had moved to the US with his wife soon after their marriage. But within a few months, the couple had to return to India. Srinivas’s visa expired in August 2018, and his application for renewal was rejected.

N Padmalatha* too had a similar experience when the project she was working on, ended. Before her company could assign her to a different project, her application for visa renewal was rejected.

While H-1B renewals rejections are common, the delay in the process is creating even more confusion. Take the case of Sethu Ramalingam*. Ramalingam and his wife were settling in after the birth of their first child when he had applied for an H-1B extension. However, the process was delayed and he was forced to return to India with his newborn and wife. “The worst part was that within a week after I returned, my visa got approved,” said a frustrated Ramalingam. However, he could not travel back to the US.

There are thousands with a similar predicament. This situation, however,  shows no sign of changing keeping many who are still in the US, on tenterhooks. Jwala Ravi*, who went to the US two years back, is anxious as her visa is coming up for renewal in August this year. “I don’t know what to expect,” she says.

“When I came to the US we were a big group of 50 Indians, who had come here for different projects. Now there are only 10 of us as most have gone back due to visa issues and few have quit as the situation became stressful,” she said.

For students who are studying in the US, the risk is much worse. Shiv Narayan* had to come back to India when he finished his masters in the US since he could not find an employer to fund his H-1B. “I spent all my savings for a whole year. Still, I was not lucky,” he said.

Ramesh N* completed his masters in the US last year and has been able to work on his student visa. However, he is unable to get an H-1B as his employers are not keen on investing in a visa.

“I need to get my H-1B this year or it is a too big a risk,” he added. Ramesh has already spent close to Rs 30 lakh on his education and living expenses. Without a job in the US, it would take longer for him to pay off his loans. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” he added.

*Names have been changed on request