US may Cut H-1B visas by 15,000

In November this year, a legislation was filed by two US Senators to bring down the number of H-1B visa by a massive 15,000. This legislation has to be passed by the Capitol first to be brought into effect. The move is to directly target low-wage immigration that supports the outsourcing industry. Also, the legislation suggests a priority given to high-wage workers before moving down the wage ladder. Indian IT companies already face difficulties in bringing in talent from abroad. These proposed policies will make it much harder for them to get IT professionals from India.

In numbers, around 86% of all H-1B visas were issued to Indians in 2014. Currently, the total number of H-1B visas issued is at 85,000.This number will go down to 70,000 and give additional powers to immigration authorities to prioritize visas based on their salaries.

In addition, the Legislation will prohibit any US worker to be replaced by a H-1B visa holder. Hence, companies will require proving that they tried to employ a US worker before applying to bring talent from overseas. The legislation also has added clauses which put restrictions on percentages of H-1B visa holders based on the size of employees in a company.

As H-1B visas get harder to come by, visit Y-Axis to get your profile evaluated.