US President Doblad Trump Announces Relaxations in H-1B Visa Restrictions/Ban

The Trump Administration has announced some relaxations in the rules of H1B visa holder restrictions. The new relaxation stated the US will allow that H1B and L1 Visa holders to enter the United States if they are returning to the same jobs they had prior to the proclamation of the visa ban.

The move can prove to be helpful to many Indian IT professionals as well as health care sector employees. The exemptions to the H-1B or L-1 Travel Ban will include the family members of the H-1B, L-1 and certain categories of J1 visas.

Trump administration announces relaxations in H-1B, L-1 travel ban

Donald Trump has banned the entry into the US of workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories, including the H-1B earlier in June saying that the move has been taken to save the jobs of the American citizens.

For the uninitiated, H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa allowing US companies to hire foreign citizens in speciality jobs requiring theoretical or technical expertise. Depending on this visa, US companies hire thousands of employees from foreign countries like India and China.

Based on the announcement, the state department has issued the revised travel advisory on Wednesday saying that the relaxations are being given under the national interest category. It further added that employers can’t be forced to replace existing employees as this will decrease their profitability and output and can cause further financial hardship.

Trump announces exemptions in H-1B, L-1 travel ban; All you need to know about the exemptions

The advisory so released says that H-1B and L-1 visas can now be issued for employees who are “seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification.”

Further, as per the State Department, H1B Visa Holders need to meet 2 out of 5 of these conditions viz:

1. The employer must need you physically present in the country. Which means. if you are an employee who can perform essential function remotely, your Visa Ban stays.
2. The employee (H1B Visa holder) must provide significant and unique contributions to an employer meeting a critical infrastructure need including chemical, communications, dams, defence industrial base, emergency services, energy, financial services, food and agriculture, government facilities, healthcare and public health, information technology, nuclear reactors, transportation, and water systems.

1. The wage rate paid to the H-1B applicant will exceed the existing wage rate by at least 15 per cent. If an H1B applicant receives a wage that meaningfully exceeds the prevailing wage, it suggests that the employee fills an important business need, the State Department said.
2. Fourth, the H1B holder should be able to demonstrate his/her education, training and/or experience in the speciality occupation. That is, his work should reflect that he is adding something to the US economy.
3. If the denial of the visa will cause financial hardship to the US employer, you can return to the US.

The exemptions for L1 visas are almost similar to that of the H1B. As per the State Department, the L-1 applicants seeking to open a new office need to meet two out of three criteria and employ five or more US workers either directly or indirectly.