America granted work permits for Indian spouses of H-1B visa holders. A judge has ruled that spouses of H-1B visa holders can work in the United States, is a big relief for foreign workers in the U.S. tech sector,
In the process, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA. Which had approached the court to dismiss the Obama-era regulation that gave employment authorization cards to the spouses of H-1B visa holders of certain categories.
US Court’s Ruling On H-1B Visa To Benefit Thousands Of Indian Techies
Tech companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft opposed the lawsuit. The US has so far issued nearly 1,00,000 work authorisations to spouses of H-1B workers. A significantly large number of them are Indians.
H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are Indians, can work in the country. In a big relief to foreign workers in the American tech sector which has seen massive retrenchments.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa. It allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations. That requires theoretical or technical expertise. However, Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA. It had approached the court to dismiss the Obama-era regulation that gave employment authorization cards to partners of certain categories of H-1B visa holders.
What is the H-1B Lottery?
A few weeks ago, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for H-1B visas would start on March 1, 2023. Also, stay open through March 20, 2023, for the fiscal year starting in October 2024. During this window, prospective employers and representatives can submit their registrations using the online USCIS H1-B registration.
Each registration must be completed electronically and each applicant pays a $10 registration fee. For each registration submitted for the FY 2024 H1-B cap. However, USCIS will assign a confirmation number, which they can use to track the registration online.
Indian H1-B visa holders may be the worst hit by the US tech layoffs
Of the more than four million people of Indian origin residing in the US, only around 60% are US citizens, according to a 2020 survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
That leaves more than 1.5 million of them working there on various visas, leaving them the most affected by the downturn. Even Indian holders of the elite H-1B visas, the category under which most US visa holders of Indian origin are living there, are running out of options.
Therefore, in both 2020 and 2021, Indians bagged nearly 75% of the more than 400,000 visas issued in this category annually. Some 36% of H-1B visa holders from India have been living in the US for more than 10 years.
All that may be under a threat now. Many of these Indians have mortgages and student loans to repay, while others have school-going children.
The Impact of H-1B Workers on the U.S. Economy
According to many economists, the presence of immigrant workers in the United States creates new job opportunities for native-born workers. This occurs in five ways. First, immigrant workers and native-born workers often have different skill sets, meaning that they fill different types of jobs.
As a result, they complement each other in the lalabourarket rather than competing for the home jobs. Second, immigrant workers spend and invest their wages in the U.S. economy, which increases consumer demand and creates new jobs. Third, businesses respond to the presence of immigrant workers. Also, consumers by expanding their operations in the United States rather than searching for new opportunities overseas.
The economic contributions of H-1B workers in particular may increase the employment opportunities available to native-born workers in the United States. That is why unemployment rates are relatively low in occupations that employ large numbers of H-1B workers. Many occupations for which H-1Bs routinely court requested to find within the broader category of Professional and Related Occupations.
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