US Immigration News

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have confirmed plans for more scrutiny of foreign workers in the US on L1 visas in 2017. The plans mean that Indian IT companies, with a base in the US, will face more frequent visits from USCIS officials. Donald Trump has mentioned a number of times that he would make it harder for companies to employ overseas skilled workers.

News that US president, Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order to perhaps bring in more restrictions for the H1B and L1 visa programmes has sparked concerns in Israel.  Israelis wonder if there will be a delay in implementing the E2 visa program for Israelis by the US administration.

According to official guidelines released on Tuesday, February 21, US ‘dreamer’ immigrants will be spared from Trump’s US immigration crackdown. The President’s administration will press ahead with plans to consider virtually all illegal immigrants subject to deportation, but will keep protections in place for immigrants who entered the US illegally as children.

A draft executive order leaked in February by a number of news websites, has sparked rumors that Donald Trump plans to sign a new executive order aimed at ‘strangling’ work-visa programmes. It’s understood that H1B and L1 visas, mainly used by Indian IT professionals, may face tighter restrictions as part of wider US immigration reforms.

Recently released research showing the immigration patterns of highly-skilled workers reveals that the US attracts more immigrant inventors on US visas than all of the rest of the world combined. According to the data, between 2000 and 2010 America welcomed more than 190,000 foreign-born inventors, while just over 10,000 departed.

Uncertainty surrounding the special immigrant visa (SIV) programme for Afghans will continue despite the Donald Trump’s Presidency. Following a fiercely contested battle in the Senate, Congress guaranteed that the scheme would remain in place throughout the coming presidential term.

The Afghan immigration visa programme enables Afghanis - who have aided US-led coalition forces in the fight against the Taliban as construction workers, firefighters and interpreters - to resettle in the US due to the risk of being tortured or killed by the terrorist group if they returned home.