Trump's H-1B visa restrictions scrapped by US court spells good news for Indian and American IT companies alike

• A US district court has struck down the proposed changes to H-1B visa regulations put forward by US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
• The judge ruled that Trump did not have a ‘good cause’ to bypass standard rules and ‘fast track’ the changes.
• This means the wage hikes that came into play on October 8 will no longer apply, and the change in eligibility criteria won’t kick in on December 7.

A US district court has struck down the proposed changes to H-1B visa rules proposed by the Trump administration. According to the court, the government failed to show a ‘good cause’ to do away with the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA’s) notice and comment requirements.


This doesn’t mean that the court objects to the new rules directly, but it objects to how US President Donald Trump tried to get them passed using an executive order. The ‘fast track’ route implements the changes to regulation without public comment.

On the other hand, the standard procedure invites suggestions and concerns, considers them and then releases a fresh draft. The process can take many months, and many rounds of talks before any new rules come into play.

What does this mean for Indians?
The US court’s ruling essentially undoes the changes proposed by the Trump administration. The Department of Labour rule, which came into effect on October 8, hiking wages by 40% to 100% for H-1B visa holders and green card applicants, will no longer apply. This would have made H-1B applicants more expensive to hire.


The second rule under the Department of Homeland Security, which revised eligibility norms, would have led to a spike in the rejection rate. The new rule also curtailed the tenure of the visa to one year, instead of the usual five or ten years. It was supposed to come into effect on December 7 — this is no longer the case.

For India, which makes up for the bulk of the H-1B visas issues, this spells good news. The doors are now open for those looking to renew their visas and also for those aspiring to get a job in the country.

This holds especially true for those working within Indian IT companies. The likes of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies, Infosys and others did not see foresee short terms challenges, but did agree that the new rules prove to be an obstacle in the long run.

They have already doubled down on localising their workforce in the US and some are also looking at near sho


The lawsuit win comes after Silicon Valley big-wigs Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others stepped in to lend their support for the cause. The H-1B visa is often referred to as the coveted visa for the tech industry in the US since they tend to hire many engineers from outside the country.

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