BENGALURU:
Immigration experts believe there could be a sharp decline in the number of
H-1B petitions filed by
Indian IT services companies this year following the tough environment created by the
US administration under
President Donald Trump.
H-1B filings for the next fiscal began on April 2, and will conclude when the immigration authority — the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — determines they have received enough applications to meet the upper limit of 65,000 visas that can be issued in a year.
Scott FitzGerald, a partner in US immigration firm Fragomen Worldwide, said the consensus seems to be that filings of H-1B petitions by Indian IT services companies would be down this year, “possibly by as much as 50% compared to the recent years”.
The Trump administration has been gradually increasing the stringency with which it scrutinizes work-visa applications.
