NEW DELHI: Thousands of Indians who hold H-1B visas or have applied for one recently were on tenterhooks on Sunday as US President Donald Trump indicated that he is preparing to sign an executive order suspending work visas as millions of Americans struggle with job losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
An announcement is expected in the next two days. “We are going to be announcing something tomorrow or the next day on the visas. You need them for big businesses where they have certain people that have been coming in for a long time, but very little exclusion and they (restrictions) are pretty tight,” Trump told Fox News.
The action is likely to affect H1-B and L-1 visa holders the most. According to Bloomberg News one possibility is that the order would restrict people from entering the US on work visas, including H-1B, for 180 days. Those already in the US are unlikely to be affected. However, workers who already have those visas, but are outside the US may not be able to enter until the order expires.
Also, those who are waiting for H-1B visas to get stamped could be affected. Visa stampings were halted as the US consulates closed down due to the pandemic. “I returned for my H1-B stamping and then the pandemic struck. Now, with the consulates closed and talk of restrictions being imposed, I don’t know what to do. I hope renewals will be exempt,” said Sai Srinivas Penumarthi a software engineer.