U.S. Presidential elections 2020 are nearing and due to Narendra Modi-Trump friendship, many are bending towards the Trump government. Otherwise in the 2016 elections, only 16% American Indians voted for Trump.
The current stand of the Trump government on H1-B visa is a point of conflict within and outside the U.S. Trump has vowed that he will get rid of the H1-B visa as a cheap labour program, but the Indian IT industry gets around 70% revenue from the U.S. And recently, the Trump administration has revamped much of this programme.
The founder of the Watson Immigration Law says that Trump’s government is not concerned about the Indian-Americans and Indian H1-B professionals in the US.
They have brought certain norms like not allowing the parents of the US citizens and other immigrant categories to immigrate to the US. Due to this, the H1-B workers’ families are in a state of uncertainty. Even the children of H1-B workers are in a fix whenever there is a change in the work or student visa policies.
Importance of H1-B Visa for United States
H1-B immigrants are actually helpful in bridging the gap in skills of various industries in the US, like healthcare, technology, etc. Moreover, about 45% of Fortune 500 Companies are founded by either immigrants or children of immigrants. The H1-B visas granted in 2012 created approximately 700,000 local jobs in 2020.
The Indian-Americans are the most educated communities in the USA. Even in the past the U.S. has lost many opportunities because of its adverse visa policies. At present, there are around 1.6% Indian-Americans in the U.S and are thus the second largest immigrant group after Mexicans.
What after H1-B is closed in United States for Immigrants?
Trump’s attack on the H1-B policy has mainly affected those who are under the process of immigration. His move is mainly to help the American workers because H1-B is not only related to foreign-born workers, but also to their local communities and employers.
This is the reason why majors like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. spoke out against the Trump government. If this policy gets implemented, many families will get separated and the spouses of H1-B workers will not be able to work.
All these hardworking people are taxpayers and contribute to a great extent in the growth of the tech economy.
Biden too is going to be Anti Immigrant
Biden, on the other hand, claims to revoke the H1-B ban upon being elected and is the first Democratic presidential candidate who has released an exclusive policy document for the Indian-Americans.
But, only the president cannot dictate immigration reforms, so nothing can be said as of now. Democratic government’s intention could bring about change but it’s a long, daunting process as it is going to affect millions of lives.