ITServe Alliance, with a membership of more than 2200 IT service companies across the United States has expressed its support for the new Pilot Domestic Visa Renewal Program, for H1B Visas. The U.S. government launched this pilot this month, through which 20,000 visas will be granted to foreign workers in the U.S., many of whom are Indians. The pilot program was announced following Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to the U.S. in June this year.
By allowing the domestic renewal of H1B visas, the government will eliminate the need for Indian nationals to travel back to India to get their passports stamped. Currently, Indian nationals face an average wait time of over four months to secure an appointment in an American Consulate or Embassy in India.
The ITServe Alliance has lauded this effort, given that many of the 20,000 beneficiaries of the pilot are IT professionals of Indian origin, who are working in the U.S. The alliance also supports immigration reform to further streamline obtaining an H1B visa for IT professionals and legislation like Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi’s High-Skilled Immigration Reform for Employment (HIRE) Act, which would increase the number of H1B visas granted to foreign workers every year.
