February 07, 2025 07:55 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
More voters in Maharashtra than its adult population: Rahul Gandhi alleges irregularities in voting | Fire breaks out at Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, no casualty reported | Calcutta HC rejects Bengal govt's plea seeking death penalty for RG Kar convict Sanjoy Roy | RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points, first in five years | Arvind Kejriwal accuses BJP of 'offering' Rs. 15 crores, ministerial posts to AAP candidates to shift sides | Donald Trump to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court for targeting Israel | Bangladeshi actor Meher Afroz Shaon arrested on charges of conspiracy against state | Video emerges showing how Indians hide in Panama jungle to enter US illegally amid deportation by Trump administration | Engaging US to ensure no Indian deportee is mistreated: Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha amid 'handcuffed' extradition row | Opposition slams Modi govt after US deports illegal Indian immigrants in captive state
H1B visa renewals to get simpler in 2025. Photo courtesy: Soumyadev Sarkar/IBNS

H-1B visa renewal will get simpler in 2025, Indians to benefit most as home country travel won't be required

| @indiablooms | Jan 07, 2025, at 12:45 am

Washington DC/IBNS: Indians working on H1-B visas will soon be able to renew the same without the need for them to travel to their home country after the success of a pilot project by the US Department of State.

The pilot project, started a year ago, involved approximately 20,000 eligible participants who meet the requirements listed in the US Federal Register.

After a successful culmination of the pilot project, the renewal of H-1B visas will not require the applicant to travel back to their home country for a stamp of renewal.

This was a long-pending concern raised by highly skilled professionals who work in the US under this visa programme, most of whom are Indians.

Besides the inconvenience of traveling so far and spending lakhs of rupees on air tickets for this purpose, the process was a tedious one involving the applicant going through long wait times for a confirmed visa appointment.

The pilot project was aimed to make the renewal process fast and convenient.

In the declaration made in its year-end press statement, the US Department of State said the pilot project for H-1B renewal "allowed many specialty occupation workers from India to renew their visas without leaving the United States. This pilot program streamlined the renewal process for thousands of applicants, and the Department of State is working to formally establish a US-based renewal program in 2025."

Though the new process has been confirmed to start this year, a date from which it will officially begin is yet to be announced.

This comes at a time when there is an intense debate over the H-1B visa and its impact on American citizens when it comes to the job market. Even though hardliners urged President-elect Donald Trump to end the programme along with his other plans of curbing immigration, Donald Trump and his top officials including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have backed it.

They are of the view that "America needs talented people", and the H-1B allows for the world's top talent to live and work in the US, which helps the United States stay ahead of the global curve on technology, research, and healthcare.

India tops the list of H-1B visa holders globally, most of whom work in the tech industry, followed by medical and research.

According to US State Department data from 2022, as much as 77 percent of 3,20,000 H-1B visa applications went to Indians. In 2023 too, out of 3,86,000 visas, more than 72 percent were issued to Indian nationals.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Videos
PM Modi takes holy dip at Maha Kumbh Feb 05, 2025, at 03:10 pm
Amit Shah at Maha Kumbh Mela Jan 31, 2025, at 04:14 pm
PM Modi's remarks on Parakram Diwas Jan 24, 2025, at 03:36 pm