H-1B visa: Andhra IT minister says US unlikely to make any changes in policy

H-1B visa: The H1-B visa issue became highly contested within Donald Trump's own support base during the US presidential elections.

Andhra Pradesh minister for IT and electronics Nara Lokesh has said that the United States is unlikely to make any changes in its H-1B visa policy.

H-1B visa: The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ skilled foreign workers in specialized fields such as technology, engineering, and finance. (Representational Image)

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ skilled foreign workers in specialized fields such as technology, engineering, and finance. It is widely used by Indian IT professionals seeking employment opportunities in the United States.

Addressing concerns about the potential impact of US immigration policies under Donald Trump's administration, Nara Lokesh told ANI that post-election, there appears to be a bit more calmness over the issue in the United States, referring to the debate on the H-1B foreign guest workers' visa among Trump supporters.

"I think there's a clear thing that the H-1B policy will not be changed, though pre-election has some rhetoric. But post-election, I think things have changed. There's a bit more calmness on that. We have to wait and watch," the minister said.

H1-B visa debate in USA

The H1-B visa issue became highly contested within Donald Trump's own support base during the US presidential elections.

While his close confidants like Elon Musk, the Tesla owner, supports H-1B visa as it brings in qualified tech professionals, many of his supporters oppose it arguing that it takes away jobs from Americans.

On Tuesday, a day after he was sword in as US president, Donald Trump, said that he likes both sides of the debate on the H-1B foreign guest workers' visa, stating that he welcomed “competent people” coming into the country.

“I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do. I don't want to stop…,” he said during the event along with Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.

"We want competent people coming into our country. And H-1B, I know the programme very well. I use the programme. Maître d', wine experts, even waiters, high-quality waiters, you've got to get the best people. People like Larry, he needs engineers, NASA also needs... engineers like nobody's ever needed them," Trump added.