Trump mulls suspending H-1B visa

US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas, including the H-1B, in view of the massive unemployment in America because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report.

The proposed suspension could extend into the government’s new fiscal year beginning on October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday quoting unnamed administration officials.

“That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected,” The Journal reported. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Such a decision by the Trump administration is likely to have an adverse impact on thousands of Indian IT professionals. Already a large number of Indians on H-1B visas have lost their jobs and are headed back home.

Update by Sirsha Gupta