Premium processing of H1B visa petitions mild respite to Indian IT firms

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would resume premium processing of all H1B visa petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018, on Tuesday. However, this will bring a mild respite to Indian technology firms already grappling with a shortage of talent in the US, its largest market.

Premium processing of H1B visas is like the “tatkaal” scheme, which allows processing of applications within 15 calendar days for an additional fee of $1,410 per application, apart from the base fee.

This allows employers a faster route to get skilled talent in the US, and the Indian information technology (IT) industry has been a long-standing beneficiary of this programme.