Following the new mandate about the H1-B via, Microsoft has urged its employees on H-1B and H-4 visas to return to the US immediately before the Trump administration’s September 21 deadline, after which companies will be required to pay $100,000 per year for each H-1B worker visa. Reuters reported this saying Microsoft has advised those already in the US to stay there for the foreseeable future.“H-1B visa holders should stay in the US for the foreseeable future. Also recommend H-4 visa holders remain in the US. Strongly recommend H-1B and H-4 visa holders return to the US tomorrow before the deadline,” Microsoft said in its email to employees, according to Reuters.
This follows Donald Trump’s latest executive order introducing a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications, dealing a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China. Anticipating the tech industry’s response to the changes, Trump said “I think they’re going to be very happy”. The highest number of H1-B visa holders in the United States is Indians.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said, “One of the most abused visa systems is the H1-B non-immigrant visa programme. This is supposed to allow highly skilled labourers who work in fields that Americans don’t work in to come into the United States of America. What this proclamation will do is raise the fee that companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to $100,000. This will ensure that the people they’re bringing in are actually very highly skilled and that they’re not replaceable by American workers.”
India accounts for 71% of H1-B visa holders in the United States of America followed by China which trails at 11.7%.
Also Read: Indian IT Professionals Face The Brunt Of New Us Visa Fee As Microsoft Issues Urgent Return Directive https://www.vibesofindia.com/indian-it-professionals-face-the-brunt-of-new-us-visa-fee-as-microsoft-issues-urgent-return-directive/
