Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday morning (June 22 - IST) received a ceremonial welcome at the White House by US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden. The Prime Minister is on US visit from June 20-23 and is expected to discuss and decide on a number of important issues concerning India-US relations. In a step in that direction, reports said that Joe Biden administration in America is set to make it easier for Indians to live and work in the US.
Announcement likely on Thursday, June 22
A report in Reuters said that the US State Department is likely to make an announcement on Thursday that "a small number of Indians and foreign workers will be able to renew their H-1B visas in the US." They will be able to do so without having to travel abroad, said the report. This could be a pilot project and might be expanded in coming days, reported Reuters. Indian citizens form a large chunk of those using the U.S. H-1B program.
US State Department working to find creative ways to make changes
"We all recognize that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us," said another U.S. official. "And so our goal is to approach that in a sort of multifaceted way. The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things," Reuters quoted an official.
H1B visa allocation
The H1B visa allocations are capped at 85,000 visas per year, with 20,000 of those set aside for workers holding advanced degrees from US institutions. The remaining 65,000 visas are awarded through a lottery system, making the competition for H1B visas fierce, according to news agency PTI.
