The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality act. This visa allows the U.S. employers to employ foreign workers to their companies on a temporary basis in case of some specialty occupations.
The duration of such a visa is of 3 years and is extendable up to 6 years. There can be a maximum extension of 10years when the work is related to any project under the U.S. Department of Defense. Therefore, if a worker wishes to stay in the U.S. after the expiry of this visa, he must apply for another H1B visa, by remaining outside U.S. for a year before reapplying.
A draft legislation was presented recently in the U.S., with respect to the H1b visa. According to this legislation, 20% of this visa would be reserved for those firms who have less than 50 existing employees under this visa. Moreover the minimum salary to be given to the foreign employees under this visa is supposed to increase up to $130,000 annually. This draft bill makes it difficult for the employers to recruit foreign employees in the U.S.
These sorts of protectionist policies would impact India in an adverse manner. According to a report by the New York Times, 70% of H1 B visas were granted to Indians. Therefore predictably it would be difficult in the coming times for India to maintain a macroeconomic stability if it does not devise new strategies for skilling and employability. Moreover the IT companies would also have bear tough times and should come up with new plans and strategies.
With the rising population, it is predicted that India would face a major job crisis if some really helpful initiative is not taken immediately. The service sector in the country, which has contributed the maximum in the GDP of the country, might have to face a hard setback in the coming times. Therefore, it is important to focus on other important economic parameters such as the inflation rate, the current account deficit, fiscal deficit, etc. By balancing these parameters and using innovative strategies for job growth side by side, India can cushion itself from the global shock to a large extent.
