Immigration Reform News 2017: Fast Processing of H-1B Visas Suspended

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, March 04, 2017

While the United States has sent assurance to India that the H-1B reforms are not a priority, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted a bulletin that institutes a stop to the fast-track processing of H-1B visa applications. The suspension is set to take effect on April 3 and could last up to half a year.

With the present system, companies sending out petitions for H-1B visas can pay for faster processing, also called "premium processing." This shortens the time of applications from three to six months down to 15 days.

The visas are currently doled out by lottery, and outsourcing firms like Infosys and Tata Consulting flood the visa application pool, according to The Verge. The nationality of the applicants is confidential at the time of petition. According to the New York Times, the vast majority of applicants turn out to be from India.

The Indian National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has been cozying up to U.S. software giants to help them lobby with the Trump administration for more relaxed visa policies, according to Business Standard.

NASSCOM president R. Chandrashekhar talked about the narrative that low-paid Indian IT workers are taking away jobs from skilled American workers. He implores that the facts are not being recognized. "If you look at the facts, then the facts actually tell you a very, very different story," he said.

"The top seven Indian companies constitute only 13 per cent of the total of H1B visas issued," said Shivendra Singh, vice-president at NASSCOM. "We support local hiring and are net creators of jobs," he continued.

According to the New York Times, 70 percent of H-1B visas in 2014 were granted to applicants from India, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Employers like TCS, Wipro and Infosys then pay at least $60,000 to their stock of Indian workers — way below industry average, and just enough to sidestep declaration requirements — and uses them to undercut U.S. workers.