The Information Technology (IT) trade body, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has said that resumption of fast processing of applications filed under H1-B work visa programme by the United States (US) will help Indian IT firms, who are the biggest users of these visas, to efficiently conduct their business even as they continue to focus on reducing their reliance on visas.
Nasscom President R Chandrasekhar has said that over the last few years, the applications for work visas by Indian IT firms have halved as the companies are leveraging new technologies to reduce dependence on visas to send workers to client sites. He also said that this is certainly a welcome move and they were expecting this to come. He noted that, usually when priority visa processing is suspended, it is done for 2 months or so and this time, it was more, which was different. The US has resumed fast processing of H-1B work visas in all categories subject to Congress-mandated limit, five months after it was suspended temporarily to handle the huge rush of applications for the work visas popular among Indian IT professionals.
R Chandrasekhar has explained that the premium processing route is important because for special skill sets, it is difficult to anticipate the requirements in advance and file applications. When a petitioner requests the agency’s premium processing service, the US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) guarantees a 15-day processing time. If the 15-day processing time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner’s premium processing service fee and continue with expedited processing of the application.