What does Trump's win mean for H-1B visa holders, Indian techies

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Jan. 20 (Image: AP)

Right after taking over the Oval Office as the 47th president of the US, Donald Trump has already signed a slew of executive orders, many of them undoing policies implemented by the previous Joe Biden administration.

The signing ceremony took place during a public event in Washington, where Trump showed several documents to the public, amid cheers, and signed them one by one.

Notably, the executive orders have a wide range of topics, starting with the recession of 78 Biden-era Executive Actions, automatically reversing policies made by the previous administrations. Others include immigration orders, reinstating Trump's first-term policy prioritizing the deportation of all undocumented individuals, implementing a regulatory freeze, a freeze on federal hiring with exceptions to the military, until the administration's objectives are clear, and ending work-from-home culture.

However, all these developments have raised uneasiness among H-1B visa holders and people aiming to achieve it. With the numerous changes in the administration's policies, it is believed that Trump may go back to stricter regulations on foreign workers and a curb on immigration levels - illegal and illegal.

Let's look at the things you need to know related to the H-1B visa row:

What is an H-1B visa and who is eligible for it?

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa reserved for people from other countries who are hired in specialist occupations in the United States, mostly in the tech field. Jobs that often qualify for the visa are software engineers, tech program managers and other IT professionals. The role requires people to have a specialised skill and knowledge at a professional level.

It has been a critical pathway for Indian professionals to thrive in industries such as IT, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.

What is the validity of H-1B visas?

The H-1B visa has a validity of 6 years - an initial three years plus a three-year extension. Visa holders can also apply for permanent residency in the US by applying for a green card. The H-1B visa is "dual intent", which means it allows holders to apply for a Green Card after six years in the US.

If a person working in the US is laid off from their work, then they have a time frame of 60 days to leave the country get another job or manage to change their immigration status.

There are different kinds of work visas, including 2-A for temporary workers for seasonal agriculture, H2-B for temporary workers for non-agricultural professions, H3 for primarily non-employment training programs, and student visa F-1 for full-time international students pursuing academic studies at an accredited U.S. college or university.

What do trump allies say about the H-1B visa?

Billionaire Elon Musk, a staunch Trump supporter, has earlier defended the program saying he would 'go to war' over it after trump supporters criticized the appointment of Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence and argued the H-1B program favors foreign-born workers over Americans.

However, data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that between April and September 2024, Indian-origin companies accounted for 24,766 out of 130,000 H-1B visas issued. Leading Indian tech firms such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) remain major contributors to this figure, Business Standard reported.

However, there has been a shift in recent years. Indian IT companies operating in the US have reduced their reliance on H-1B visas by hiring more local talent. For instance, HCLTech reported that 80 percent of its US workforce comprises locals.

"We have one of the lowest levels of reliance on the H-1B in the sector. We've achieved local self-sufficiency over the past four years," Business Standard quoted Ramachandran Sundararajan, HCLTech's chief people officer, on January 13 as saying. In a similar vein, Wipro, the fourth-biggest provider of IT services in India, has decided to hire a substantial number of local workers. Although we have a sizable pool of H-1B visas, we have been employing more Americans. This guarantees that we can adapt to any modifications in the H-1B visa policy," Wipro chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil stated on Friday.

On the other hand are people like Steve Bannon, one of the architects of Trump's 2016 campaign, who called the H-1B program a 'scam'. "We're winning this round, and we're winning this round pretty big," Bannon said at a Politico event this month, referring to the H-1B fight. "I think we'll get Elon there. As soon as I can turn Elon Musk from a techno-futilist to a populist nationalist, we'll start making real progress."

Notably, he also said that the important takeaway from the national debate is to recognize there is a shortage of talent in the STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - fields that the country needs.

"Recognize and acknowledge that we do not have enough domestic talent that we need, and address both at the same time by allowing skilled immigrants to come in now but also using that policy to mandate that America starts training the next generation," she said.

Trump said he favours the program, does that mean Indian techies still have a chance?

Trump declared his support for the program following the first altercation. "My homes are home to numerous H-1B visas. I have been a supporter of H-1B. I've made extensive use of it. "The program is fantastic," he told the New York Post.

Questions about whether Trump supports the program or intends to press for reforms to H-1Bs or other work visa programs were not answered by his staff before the inauguration. During his first tenure, which ran from 2017 to 2021, he attempted to limit them.

Who might be impacted by changes to the policy?

In 2023, the majority of authorized H-1B recipients were Indians, with Chinese people coming in second. Those impacted by layoffs in the tech industry may find themselves rushing to keep their legal status under the current system.

For instance, Meta, which employs over 72,000 people, recently announced that it would lay off roughly 5 percent of its workforce, reported Reuters. According to Tahmina Watson, an immigration lawyer based in Seattle, Washington, individuals or companies that rely on H-1Bs might be better off ignoring the political back and forth.

"Do not be deterred by the national rhetoric from using the H-1B if your business needs it," she said. "I say to a lot of my clients that your business success is your North Star, so do what you need to do. "For the employees who might be afraid, I'd say if they are working in alignment with their employers, they should not be afraid."