As a new step in visa permission, the US State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which permitted many companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on-site in the United states, a move which could affect Indians. The proposal if finalised will get rid of any misconception that the "B-1 in place of H policy" provides an alternative channel for foreign professionals to enter the US to perform skilled labour that permits, and potentially even encourages them and their employers to evade the restrictions and requirements relating to the H non-immigrant classification established by Congress to protect the U.S workers, the State Department said.

The move, proposed on Wednesday, is less than two weeks ahead of the November 3 presidential election. The proposed changes and the resulting transparency would decrease the impact of foreign labour on the US workforce of aliens performing activities in a specialty occupation without the procedural protections attendant to the H- 1B classification," the department said. It added that the application process for a B-1 visa does not include similar procedural requirements to protect the US workers like that of H-1B visas. Also, the fees for the B-1 visas are comparatively less than that of H-1B visas. This could cause businesses to wrongfully use the visa for cheaper labour from abroad to reduce costs by paying them significantly lower than what is customary for American employees as per US laws. While Congress required H-1B employers to pay significant fees to fund assistance to the US workforce as well as prevention and detection of fraud related to skilled labour, employers are not required to pay comparable fees to employ skilled workers under the B-1 in lieu of H policy, it said.

USA: Rules regarding H1-B visa gets stringent; know details