Industry body Nasscom has welcomed the US government’s move to allow technology workers on H-1B/ L-1 visas who provide critical infrastructure services to enter the country.

“It will help US businesses to access talent critical to the economic recovery phase in the post-Covid world,” said Nasscom in a statement.

On October 12, the US government issued a notification that included exceptions for H-1B/ L-1 visa-holders who would be returning to the US in the same position with the same employer and visa classification, in addition to the above-mentioned reasons. Nasscom has consistently raised the importance of visa holders working within the tech sector, particularly those who would be delivering services designated essential per the DHS CISA “Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce”, particularly those who would be returning to the US in the same position with the same employer and visa classification.

However, we remain “cautiously optimistic” – as caveats in the DoS guidance about seniority, unique and significant contributions and/or other factors that go along with the exceptions still allow a lot of leeway in interpretation of the new guidance. The impact can only be gauged in course of time. That said, we believe this is a step in the right direction and encourage the implementing agencies to ensure US businesses’ access to critical talent is not hampered, Nasscom said.

Related Topics