Beyond Layoff

On 22nd Feb 2018, the US government agency under President Trump announced   "Clarifies Policy on Requirements for Third-Party Worksite H-1B Petitions"  This move by the Trump administration is making headlines across media in India, China and other countries with the majority of H1 visa applicants. While most of the headlines are quoting the USCIS announcement, here is what it could mean to individuals and companies*: Applicants from IT and Software services companies that are in the  List of top 100 H1B Visa Employers  including Infosys, Capgemini, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), IBM, Wipro, Accenture, Tech Mahindra, deloitte Consulting, Cognizant Technology Solutions, HCL America and others are likely require additional scrutiny These software service companies place people at client sites to work on client projects. For example, Infosys may place its employees to work at the retailer Gap in San Bruno, California, Microsoft in Redmond, WA or at Bank of America

The topic of – or lack of – women in the hi-tech world is a topic of perennial discussion. The Trump administration's latest move to roll-back USCIS policy of issuing work-authorization to spouses of H1 is likely to hit women, many of them hi-tech workers themselves. The current USCIS policy allows H-1B visa holders who have applied for lawful permanent residence (green card) to apply for a work-authorization for their spouse. Ref : Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses . image source: kqed.org The Department of Homeland Security, which announced the review of the rule, did not specify why. A brief memo from the agency just said that it was reviewing the rule in light of Mr Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order. While USCIS does not track or publish data on the sex of spouses benefiting from this policy, empirical data suggest that a vast majority of spouses of H1 Holders tends to be of the fairer sex. Media reports