Indian-American tech executive welcomes announcement of pilot H-1B, L visa renewal program

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

H-1B visas in the country. «I am honoured and happy to see this announcement by the White House Joint Statement and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi himself making an announcement. The H-1B restamping in the USA will bring relief to over one million people on H-1B,” Ajay Bhutoria, a Silicon Valley technology executive, community leader, speaker and author, said in a statement. In the Joint Statement by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, issued during the Indian leader's State Visit last month, the leaders welcomed an announcement by the State Department that it would launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals, with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H1B and L visa holders in 2024 and eventually broadening the program to include other eligible categories. The much-sought-after 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. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Until 2004, certain categories of non-immigrant visas, particularly the H-1B, could be renewed or stamped inside the US. After that, for the renewal of these visas, in particular, those on H-1B, the foreign tech workers have to go out of the country, mostly to their own country to get the H-1B extension stamped on their passport.

Biden administration drops travel abroad requirement for skilled workers renewing H-1B visas

The H-1B visas are issued for three years at a time. For all the H-1B visa holders, when their visa is renewed, they