look news india
A very worrying and big news is coming from the global technology and employment world through America, which can prove to be a big blow especially for the millions of Indian professionals who cross the ocean every year with the help of H-1B visa to fulfill their American dream. A new and extremely strict bill has been introduced in the US Parliament with the aim of making the immigration rules more stringent, under the provisions of which, if any company or sponsoring employer is found violating H-1B visa rules or labor laws, then a huge fine of up to Rs 2.40 crore i.e. about $ 300,000 can be imposed on it. Since the coming out of this new legislative proposal, there has been a stir among the tech companies and IT professionals from Silicon Valley to India’s technology hub Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida, because this has once again put a big threat to the stability of jobs and visas in America.
There has been a political debate going on in America for a long time that the jobs of American citizens are being taken away by hiring foreign workers, especially tech professionals from Asian countries, at low wages, and due to this local pressure, American lawmakers have proposed this new bill. There is a provision in this new bill that if a company pays less than the prescribed minimum salary to an employee holding an H-1B visa, gives preference to foreign employees instead of employing American citizens locally or disregards any other provision of the visa rules, then a fine of crores of rupees will be imposed on it as financial penalty. Additionally, if this bill becomes law, the Department of Labor will get more extensive powers to audit companies and examine documents, thereby increasing the accountability of both foreign workers working on American soil and their sponsoring companies.
The biggest and direct impact of this new and aggressive immigration stance of America is going to be on thousands of software engineers, data scientists and technical experts from India who go to America every year by obtaining H-1B visa through lottery system. Since the penalty provision is much more stringent, now America’s big and small tech companies will think twice before hiring Indian employees and will find it safer to hire local citizens to avoid the complex processes of visa sponsorship. Additionally, Indian professionals who are already employed in the US may also face additional legal hurdles and hesitation from companies while switching jobs or getting visa transfers. Experts believe that such rules will make it more challenging and complicated for Indian tech talent to survive and progress in the American labor market than before.
As the electoral and political equations are changing in America, tightening of immigration policies is becoming a trend, and this new bill has proved that America’s path is not going to be so easy in the coming days. However, right now it has been introduced only in the form of a bill and it will have to go through the long process of passing through both the houses of the US Congress and the Senate and becoming a law with the signature of the President, but its seriousness cannot be denied. Indian professionals or students planning to pursue a career in the US will now have to further strengthen their legal and technical skills and associate only with companies that are fully compliant. This is also the time to think that the Indian tech sector should now pay serious attention to its domestic economy and alternative global destinations so that such shocks from American policies do not have any negative impact on the career.