Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, the Biden administration is all set to make it easier for Indians to live and work in the country.
As per media reports, the official announcement by the State Department could come as soon as Thursday.
According to sources, following the new rules, a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew those visas in the US, without having to travel abroad.
This initiative is now considered as a part of a pilot program that could be expanded in coming years.
As per government data, Indian citizens are by far the most active users of the US H-1B program and made up 73% of the nearly 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022.
Official statement from US
"We all recognize that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us," said another U.S. official. "And so our goal is to approach that in a sort of multifaceted way. The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things."
"The pilot would begin with a small number of cases with the intention to scale the initiative over the following one to two years," the spokesperson said, while declining to define small.
The ability for some of the temporary foreign workers to renew visas in the U.S. would free up resources for visa interviews in consulates abroad, the spokesperson said.
The steps for implementing the new rules are not finalized until they are announced.
