President Donald Trump’s new H-1B visa policy impact can be seen in the spectrum right from education to career plans, jobs to industries. The announcement has trembled the diligent working section from all over the world that has thrived towards making a prosperous career in the United States. If you also have similar plans of acquiring a higher degree and pursuing a job then you should take the following points into consideration.
What is H-1B Visa?
In US, the H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a) (15) (H). It enables the US employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations temporarily. H1-B Visa offers the privilege of switching to another job in case the visa holder is not satisfied with one employer. The switch in job might be as a result of having to quit one job or being laid off/fired from a job. But once you leave the country, your H1-B stands revoked.
8 things you should know about the proposed H-1B Visa Bill:
- Every year US gives out 65000 H-1B visas and an additional 20,000 more for International students with a masters degree in the US.
- In 2016, 70% of the 65000 H-1B Visas were bagged by Indians as claimed by The US Department of Homeland Security.
- Approximately 3 -3.5 lakhs Indian engineers dwell in the US on H1B visa, say industry estimates.
- Till August 2016, 72 percent of total H-1B visas issued are to Indian workers worldwide.
- During the same time span, 30 percent of all L1 visas were granted to Indians.
- A bill in the US House of Representatives (dated 31st Jan 2017) entitled the minimum salary for an H-1B visa to be doubled, to around $130,000 per annum from the present $60,000.
- According to this proposed bill, firms will be giving the first preference to Americans for hiring purposes. If they hire non-Americans they have to pay a salary of USD 130,000 per annum.
- The move may give a big blow to major industry players in US.
Skilled workers to thrive:
This move of doubling the salary packages of H-1B visa holders will raise their living standard. Earlier it was stuck at USD 60,000 and now it will make life more luxurious there. The biggest advantage of this move is it will create a pool of highly skilled workers and they will have a free ride to the US and get tags of major corporation houses like Google, Microsoft and Apple etc.
If you’re planning to head towards US, you should not take your steps back. Because if you have proficient knowledge in a particular field and have noble work experience then US may bestow you with what you want not only in monetary terms but also with a high rate career graph.
Preference to high skilled workers:
The move has brought the highly skilled workers in front. It has filtered the employees on the basis of their credibility, academic records and professional achievements. This move is offering a platform to professionals who have studied in US and working. It is allowing them to act out of the box and get high remuneration from the employers.
US- A new door of opportunities for Engineers and MBAians:
The US is always known for its Hi-tech innovations and inventions. Hence, engineers need US and the US need engineers. If you think you have the potential to stand out of queue and your research may give an edge to Science and technology then go do your Masters in US.
On the other end, the US is considered to be the holy land for management studies. The top B-schools are situated there offering top class business and management studies. The new H-1B policies may not be affecting the flow of STEM- Science Technology Engineering & Management students since they are still in demand.
