From Red Tape to Red Carpet: Lawmakers Seek to Simplify H-1B Renewals for Skilled Immigrants

In a breakthrough for foreign skilled professionals, a team of seven US congressmen, headed by Indian-origin legislators Suhas Subramanyam, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Ro Khanna, has formally urged the Biden administration to expand and make permanent the H-1B Domestic Visa Renewal Programme. The pilot scheme, launched in January 2024, allows eligible H-1B visa holders to renew their visas within the United States-a process barred since 2004.

 

The lawmakers signed a collective letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to declare that the pilot proved a success and to institutionalize it and extend it to other work visa subcategories like E, H, I, L, O, and P. They pointed out that the program was reducing administrative expenses, liberating backlogs in US consulates overseas, and introducing stability to visa holders as well as American businesses. Indian professionals, who make up more than 70% of all H-1B visa holders, would benefit the most, as they have to wait months to secure appointments at US embassies in India.

 

Indian-American businessperson Ajay Jain Bhutoria, who originally suggested the program to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, was pleased with the bipartisan backing. Domestic visa renewal was an appropriate step towards modernization, he said, "This program is the right move. It modernizes our visa system and eliminates excessive delays."

 

The momentum of the campaign is a reflection of increasing awareness of the economic advantages of US-skilled immigrants and the necessity of a more streamlined, more reliable visa system. If implemented, the expanded programme would offer relief and assurance to hundreds of thousands of foreign workers and their families, especially in the tech industry.

 

Source: Trak.in