US taking harsh measures
Months after taking harsh decisions on trade tariffs the Trump administration has announced a roll back of a Biden-era policy decision and made re-vetting mandatory for foreign non-immigrant visa holders seeking extension of work permits. This decision by the US administration is likely to impact Indians as well.
The new rules ending the practice of automatically extending the validity of employment authorisation documents (EADs) for foreign workers in certain categories came into effect this week.
Notably, in May, 2022, the Biden administration had amended rules that provided for an automatic 540-day extension of EADs without any verification process once the applicants filed new applications for renewal of the employment authorisation.
The decision to grant the extension without any verification process was taken in view of 1.5 million pending requests for grant of work permits during that period as there were apprehensions that any further delays to process them may lead to unemployment.
However, the Department of Homeland Security earlier this week announced scrapping the provision to automatically extend the EADs for foreigners filing renewal applications.
Interestingly, the latest move by the US immigration authorities came weeks after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering USD 100,000 annually.
The United States was home to about 4.8 million Indian Americans as of 2022, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Out of this, 66 per cent of Indian Americans are immigrants, while 34 per cent are US born.
The latest move by the US admin has meant that immigrants will get no automatic extensions. The foreigners filing to renew their EADs on or after October 30, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension.
Besides, the new rule prioritizes robust screening and vetting of foreigners before extending their employment authorizations.
This broadly means that Indian professionals, including H-1B workers, H-4 visa holders, and students on STEM extensions, may face uncertainty and procedural hurdles.
The US has of late been targeting India and Indian origin students and workers for reasons that are best known to the US administration alone. Though the country is dependent on the workforce that India provides it is taking actions unilaterally that will have some long term impact on the US-India relations.
