Washington: US President Donald Trump has extended the freeze on the most sought-after -1B visas together with other kinds of foreign work visas by 3 months to safeguard American employees, saying while therapeutics and COVID-19 vaccines are recently available, their effect on the labour market and community health has not yet been fully realised.

The decision will impact a massive number of Indian IT professionals and numerous American and Indian conglomerates who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. The freeze on various categories of work visas was ordered by Trump through two proclamations on April 22 and June 22 last year. Hours before the freeze was set to expire on December 31, Trump issued another proclamation on Thursday to extend it until March 30. He said that the reasons for which he had issued such a restriction has not changed.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

President Trump said that the effects of COVID-19 on the US labour market and the health of American communities is a matter of ongoing national concern, and the considerations present in the two previous proclamations have not been eliminated.

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