Tighter H1B vigil spooks Indian job market

The Donald Trump administration has announced new restrictions on the H-1B non-immigrant visa programme, which it said was aimed at protecting American workers, seeking to better guarantee that petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries, a move that will affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.

The interim final rule announced by the department of homeland security (DHS) on Tuesday, ahead of the US presidential elections on November 3, will narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system.

It will also require companies to make “real” offers to “real employees”, by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of American workers.