Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has increased the fee on the new application for H-1B visa to 1 lakh dollars i.e. about 88 lakh rupees. This decision of Trump is expected to affect India’s skilled work force. Because Indians go to a good number of jobs in America. However, Indian companies are also planning to avoid Trump’s visa fees. Indian companies are changing their American staffing strategies. Companies are considering L1 Intra-Company Transfer for Cost Management, B1 Business Visa, offshore work in Europe or India and other options.
According to the ET report, the Indian companies are making a new strategy to avoid huge fees of H-1B visa. After the Trump administration implemented a lump sum fee of $ 100,000 at $ 100,000 on H-1B visa, Indian companies are preparing alternative strategies to avoid this expense. Experts say that companies are now paying attention to options like L-1 visa (intra-company transfer), B-1 visa (meetings and conferences) and offering work in Europe or India.
H-1B visa fees increased
On September 19, the Trump administration announced that American companies would have to pay a fee of $ 100,000 for the H-1B visa, which came into force from September 21. However, the very next day, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services clarified that this fee will only apply to new visa petitions, new rules are not applicable on the already implemented visa.
Having process will change
Immigration experts believe that a sudden increase in H-1B petitions may lead to a big change in the talent and outsourcing plans of companies in the next financial year. Sukanya Raman, the country head of Davis and Associates, said that companies are now considering options like L-1 and business visa, especially for short-term trips. At the same time, they plan to move their employees who are facing visa uncertainty in the US to countries such as Europe, where visa rules are more favorable.
These employees have demand
According to experts, offshore companies are now identifying the talents that may be eligible for L-1 visa by October next year. For L-1 visa, the employee needs to have at least one year experience in the foreign unit, whether it is L-1 or L-1B. In the ET report, Global North founder and CEO Rajish Pathak said that companies have been using L-1 visa along with H-1B for years for work permits. Now due to this new fee, their focus on L-1 and other options has increased further.