Indian IT sector breathes free as US government scraps H-1B visa curbs

A regulation proposed by the former US government to narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” under the H-1B visa regime has been scrapped by the Biden administration. The change in policy brings a major relief to the Indian information technology firms, which are the largest users of such visas.

The immigration law firm Fragomen stated that The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially vacated a regulation that would have redefined the H-1B specialty occupation, restricted off site placement of H-1B employees, and otherwise increased employer compliance obligations.

“The vacatur follows a federal court ruling that set aside the regulation because the agency did not have good cause to bypass notice and comment rulemaking, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act,” it added.

As per the legal immigration agency of America, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stated that the DHS issued a final rule which  removes an interim final rule (IFR) generated in October 2020. A federal district court has since vacated it from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

The pattern in which the existing wage rates are calculated and adjusted for some levels of H-1B visa applicants have been transformed by the US Department of Labor IFR.

The skilled foreign workers are allowed to visit the US through H-1B visas. Since Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, it was in the eye of a storm. A number of changes were made to the H-1B visa programme by DHS IFRl.

An order was announced by the US District Court for the Northern District of California issued, blocking two IFRs proposed by the DHS and labor department, limiting the ability of US companies to hire employees on H-1B visas.