Following a successful pilot programme, the US is now set to allow H-1B workers to renew their visas without having to leave the country. This comes as a boon for Indian workers, who, in the last few years, have accounted for over 70 percent of the H-1B visa issued by America.
The pilot programme, launched a year ago, involved approximately 20,000 participants who met the requirements listed in the US Federal Register, reports said. One of the concerns regarding the H-1B visa, given to highly-skilled professionals from other countries to reside in the US and work, required the visa holder to travel back to their home country for a stamp of renewal.
The American administration wanted to do away with the process and hence launched it in a small scale. Acknowledging the success, the US Department of State, in its year-end press statement, said the pilot project for H-1B renewal “allowed many specialty occupation workers from India to renew their visas without leaving the United States. This pilot program streamlined the renewal process for thousands of applicants, and the Department of State is working to formally establish a US-based renewal program in 2025.”
According to reports, the US is yet to set a date when the new process will begin officially.
Indians ruling the roost
According to US State Department data, in 2022, the country issued 320,000 H-1B visas. Among those, 77 percent were given to Indians.
The following year, Indians accounted for 72 percent of the 386,000 visas issued by America.
Not just workers, Indians also make up the highest number of international students in the US, surpassing China. A record number of 331,000 student visas were taken by Indians in 2024.
As per official date, Indian visitors to the US have also increased five folds in the last few years. Records showed that more than two million Indians traveled to America in the first eleven months of 2024. This was 26 percent more than the same period in 2023.
The big visa debate
Meanwhile, the development comes at a time when there is an intense debate over the H-1B visa in the US.
While the MAGA base is against the visa and has termed it as a threat to American jobs and Western civilisation, Donald Trump, after siding with them during the election, now has matched pitch with his close aide Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man and Tesla boss has appeared adamant about the stay of the H-1B visa, arguing that America needs smart workers to have the same impact in the world it used to have. Musk, who moved into the US from South Africa with the help of the H-1B visa system, also cited himself as an example.
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The visa programme has also found support from Musk’s proposed DOGE colleague Vivek Ramaswamy, who said “America needs talented people”.
