It is getting tougher for Indians to enter the US on a work visa amid the recent policy shifts by the Donald Trump administration.

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There has been a significant increase in the number of visa rejection for Indians by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during January-March 2017, according to a recent report by National Foundation for American Policy.

Almost one-fourth of the total 57,526 H-1B visa applications from India was denied visa during the quarter higher than rejection rate of around 16.6 percent in the previous quarter.

This translates into a 42 percent increase in the proportion of H-1B petitions denied for Indian-born professionals in the fourth quarter of 2016-17, as compared to the previous quarter.

The H-1B visa is the one which lets foreign nationals live and work in the US for a six-year term.

Moreover, 72 percent of the H-1B applicants received the request for additional evidence (RFEs) from the USCIS as compared to only 24.2 percent of applications which received RFEs in the previous quarter.

Also, the denial rate and the RFE rate is too high in case of India as compared to other countries which shows that the USCIS was much more likely to issue a Request for Evidence or reject and application for Indians than from other countries.

The significant increase in denials and RFEs in the fourth quarter of 2017 is amid recent policy shift by the Trump administration, which issued a restrictive executive order “Buy American and Hire American” on April 18, 2017.

Other US Work Visas

Indians also witnessed an increase in denials rates in case of L-1B visas.

The L-1B visas are for foreign nationals considered valuable employees who already work for the employers abroad and whose applications attorneys believe meet the standards for approval.

Only 36 percent of L-1B visa applications got rejected for Indians during the first quarter of 2016-17.

However, the rejection rate increased in the subsequent quarters.

Around 46.3 percent of applications got denied in the second quarter followed by rejection rate of almost 50 percent in the third quarter and around 48 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016-17.

The denial rate in case of L-1A visa applications by Indians also spiked as soon as Trump took over as the President of US.

The L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, which allows overseas companies to transfer executives and managers including business owners for up to seven years.

Around 16.4 percent of India’s L-1A visa applications were rejected during the fourth quarter of 2016-17 as compared 9.5 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal.

On the contrary, the denial rate in case of O-1 petition reduced for Indians.

The O-1 petition is a non-immigrant visa for the individual, who possesses extraordinary ability in the science, arts, education, business, athletics or who has a demonstrated record of exceptional achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognised nationally or internationally.

The denial rate for O-1 petition decreased from 14.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016-17 to 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.

First Published:Jul 27, 2018 6:53 AM IST