The number of Indians in the US searching for jobs in India has surged 10-fold since December as Donald Trump moved to tighten US visa policy.  More Indians living in the US want a job back home after H1B Visa norms change.

Details of the report

• According to an analysis by consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Pvt. Ltd Indians in the US searching for jobs in India has gone up.
• There were approximately 600 US-based Indians seeking jobs in India in December 2016 and by the end of March 2017, the number had gone up to approximately 7,000, Deloitte analysis.
• This crackdown due to the change in job visas for skilled workers, including software engineers from India.
• According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, employers seeking H-1B work visas a non-immigrant visa allowing American firms to employ foreign workers for 2018 declined for the first time in five years.
• The surge in the number of applicants has been triggered by vows to protect jobs for locals.
• The H-1B work visa programme channels thousands of foreign workers to the US technology industry.

About H1b Visa

• H1B visa is issued for a specialty occupation, requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and requires the visa holder to have at least a Bachelors degree or its equivalent.
• It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
• The duration of stay is three years, extendable to six years.
• The maximum duration of the H-1B visa is ten years for exceptional United States Department of Defense project related work.
• If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer or leave the United States.

Source : Livemint

GS II : Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora