Stakeholders are optimistic of easier visa rules under Biden. The big question now is, when?

The last few years have been unpredictable for overseas business travellers, techies and students in the US. Apart from dealing with delivery deadlines or a job hunt, these people also had to keep an eye out for abrupt changes to visa rules that could make their plans go awry. “You could be in the middle of a project and suddenly find out that rules have changed on how long you can stay or work in the US,” says a Noida-based professional who had travelled to the US on a H1B visa.

One such shock was felt in June when the Trump administration temporarily halted access to several work-related and study visas. Apart from students and professionals, it disrupted the plans of dependents of these employees and several companies.