The year 2018 registered a sharp 10 per cent decline in the approval of H-1B visa, which is popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The cut in numbers affected the prospects of Indians working in the US.
Meanwhile, an American employment service company has agreed to pay Rs 1.1 million in back wages to nearly 600 H-1B employees, a large number of whom are highly-skilled Indian IT professionals. This follows an investigation by the Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division which found that Populus Group failed to pay H-1B employees required wages when worksites were shut down for holidays.
“The resolution of this case demonstrates our commitment to safeguard American jobs, level the playing field for law-abiding employers, and ensure no one is being paid less than they are legally owed,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit, Michigan.
In the past, President Trump himself has accused many IT companies of abusing the work visas to deny jobs to American workers.