Many developed nations are trying to secure the talented Indian workforce as the US made H1-B visas more difficult. Countries like Germany, China and Canada have hinted at special visa policies to absorb the workforce.
This comes after the US President Donald Trump raised the fee on the H-1B visas, which was designed to secure employment in speciality occupations for non-citizens, in the US.
Changes in H-1B
Trump announced a fee of $100,000 for the first-time H-1B applicants who had entered US after September 21.
The move could impact over 100,000 Indian workers, especially in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Last year, over 80,000 Indians submitted fresh petitions for the H-1B visas.
Currently, the statutory cap for H-1B is 65,000 visas with 20,00 additional visas for foreign professionals who graduated with master’s or doctorate degree from US universities.
Trump is making the entry of foreign professionals tough to force American companies to employ more US citizens. Countries like Germany, the UK, and China are easing the process for the foreign professionals.
China Introduces New K Visa for STEM Talent
“We do not change our policies overnight, highly skilled Indians are welcome in Germany,” Philipp Ackerman, German Ambassador, said.
Reports suggest that Germany would need 288,000 immigrants annually until 2024 to maintain the workforce balance and to offset the effects of an aging population.
Germany has already announced to provide 10 percent more professional visas. India’s neighbouring nation, China, has also announced a new K visa to attract more skilled labour, especially in the field of STEM. The K visa came into effect on October 1.
The UK is also looking for ways to abolish the visa fees for foreign skilled labour. The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that the country's “global talent task force” is working on the idea of luring top global scientists.
Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said, “Not as many H1B visa holders will get visas in the US. These people are skilled, and this is an opportunity for Canada; we will soon bring a proposal on this.”
Canada is also considering reintroducing the 2023 visa program, which allowed those already on H-1B visas to migrate to Canada.
South Korea is also looking to exploit the US visa changes and attract more scientists and engineers.
Experts suggest that Trump’s new visa rule will hurt the US’ giant tech companies. Roughly, over two-thirds of existing H-1B jobs are in tech-related roles.
