In a relief to Indian IT professionals, Biden admn to reconsider objections to H1B visas during Trump regime

Washington, March 13

The Biden administration on Friday said it is willing to reconsider the objections or adverse decisions to foreign workers on visas like H-1B due to the three policy memos by the previous Trump administration, which now have been rescinded.

The move is expected to come to the rescue of a large number of Indian IT professionals who were having a tough time during the previous Trump administration due to various policies and memoranda on non-immigrant work visas, in particular H-1B.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday announced “it may reopen and/or reconsider adverse decisions” on Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, made based on three rescinded policy memos.

USCIS said it would generally use its discretion to accept a motion to reopen filed more than 30 days after the decision, if filed before the end of the validity period requested on the petition or labour condition application, whichever is earlier, and the decision was based on one or more policies in the three rescinded H-1B memoranda.

On June 17, 2020, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum 602-0114, which officially rescinded two prior policy memoranda. First titled ‘Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions, Including Third-Party Site Placements’, that was issued on January 8, 2010; and second ‘Contracts and Itineraries Requirements for H-1B Petitions Involving Third-Party Worksites’, issued on February 22, 2018. PTI