Tag: US

H-1B application process begins today; to face unprecedented scrutiny

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The process of filing petitions for H-1B, considered as the most sought-after work visa among highly skilled Indian professionals, begins on Monday amidst unprecedented scrutiny by the Trump Administration.

A strong indication came from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency which is responsible to process all H-1B visas, that there will be zero tolerance by it for even minor errors.

Chatter at various social media platforms and groups indicate that immigration attorneys this time expect a much high rate of rejection.

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 technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the cap.

Days ahead of the start of the H-1B visa application process for the fiscal year 2019, beginning October 1 this year; USCIS warned that all duplicate applications would be subject to rejection. In previous years filing of duplicate petitions, by companies, so that applicants could have greater chance in getting through the lottery had become a normal practice.

USCIS has also said that it will reject H-1B petitions requesting an earlier employment start date or a start date of “As Soon As Possible” or “ASAP.”

Expecting a huge rush of application beginning tomorrow and greater scrutiny of all petitions, which would require much more man hours, USCIS has also temporarily suspended premium processing.

“We will announce the start date for premium processing in the near future,” USCIS said.

As of now, USCIS has not indicated if it plans to go for a computerised draw of lots as has been the case in previous years after receiving several times more than the Congressional mandated cap of H-1B visas.

“Complete all sections of the form accurately The petitioner should include a copy of the beneficiary’s valid passport,” USCIS said.

If the applicant is seeking an extension of stay or change of status, he/she should include evidence to establish that the beneficiary will maintain a valid nonimmigrant status through the employment start date being requested, USCIS said in its filing tips.

Given the general campaign against highly skilled Indian professionals, the applications by Indian companies are likely to face a greater scrutiny of all these petitions. As in the previous years, Indian companies would have to pay much more fee per application than those from other countries. On an average they are required to pay USD 6,000 to the federal government per H-1B application.

And by then time the successful applicant appear before the American diplomatic missions — embassies and consulates – for a formal visa interview and stamping on their passport, they would have to be ready with details of the social media profile, emails and phone numbers in the last five years.

On Friday, the State Department issued a formal notification in this regard which would come into force after 90 days.

ALSO WATCH: Here’s what experts in India say about H-1B visa row

Ahead of the H-1B visa filing process, USCIS said this work visa should help US companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country.

“Yet, too many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged. Employers who abuse the H-1B visa program may negatively affect US workers, decreasing wages and opportunities as they import more foreign workers,” it said.

Protecting American workers by combating fraud in our employment-based immigration programs is a priority for USCIS, it said, adding that it is furthering its efforts by enhancing and increasing site visits, interviews, and investigations of petitioners who use the H-1B visa programme.

“These efforts will help assist in the prosecution of program violators and ensure that American workers are not overlooked or replaced in the process,” USCIS said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China imposes tariffs on 128 US products including meat, fruit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China says it’s rolling out new tariffs on US meat, fruit and other products as retaliation against taxes approved by President Donald Trump on imported steel and aluminium.

The Chinese finance ministry said in a statement that the new tariffs will come into effect on Monday. The announcement follows warnings Chinese officials have made for several weeks in an escalating trade dispute with the United States.

China’s Customs Tariff Commission is increasing the tariff rate on eight imported US products, including pork, by 25%. It’s also imposing a new 15% tariff on 120 imported US commodities, including fruits.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The tariffs mirror Trump’s 25% charge on imported steel and 15% hike on aluminum. Trump’s tariffs are partly a response to complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US economic growth in Q4 revised up to 2.9% rate

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US economy grew at a solid 2.9% annual rate in the final three months of last year, a sharp upward revision that caps three-quarters of the fastest growth in more than a decade.

The Trump administration is hoping the economy will accelerate further this year, aided by sizable tax cuts and increased government spending.

The gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, grew at a faster clip than its previous estimate of 2.5%, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The 2.9% fourth-quarter advance followed gains of 3.1% in the second quarter and 3.2% in the third quarter. It’s the strongest nine-month stretch of growth in a dozen years since the economy expanded at rates of 3.7%, 3.5% and 4.3% from the third quarter of 2004 through the first quarter of 2005.

Wednesday’s revision, the government’s third and final look at GDP in the quarter, was better than what analysts had been expecting.

“The economy’s wheels were spinning faster than we thought in the fourth quarter,” said Chris Rupkey, Chief Financial Economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

“There is nothing in today’s report that holds the economy back from its historical run to beat the 10-year expansion of the Clinton years in the 1990s.”

The current expansion is already the third longest on record and will become the second longest, surpassing the expansion of the 1960s next month. If it lasts through June 2019, it will become the new record-holder, surpassing the 10-year expansion from March 1991 to March 2001.

The updated growth figure reflected in part more spending by consumers in services including auto repairs. Overall consumer spending grew at the fastest pace in three years. The revision also reflected less of a slowdown in inventory rebuilding than previously thought, stronger business spending on new structures and more spending by state and local governments.

For the year, the GDP expanded 2.3%, a solid rebound from a 1.5% GDP increase in 2016, which had been the weakest showing since the last recession ended in 2009.

President Donald Trump often points to the pickup in growth last year as evidence that his economic program of tax cuts, deregulation and stronger enforcement of trade deals is already having a positive impact.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to double growth, which has averaged a lacklustre 2.2% annually since the recession ended.

While Trump has talked about hitting GDP growth of 4% or better, his Budget is based on an expectation that the economy will expand at average annual rates of 3% over the next decade. That forecast has been challenged as overly optimistic by private forecasters who point to the retirements of the baby boom generation and lagging productivity as factors likely to constrain growth.

But economists have been revising up their GDP forecasts for this year and 2019 based on Trump’s success in winning approval in December of $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade and a February budget deal that will boost government spending on the military and domestic programs by $300 billion over the next two years.

Private economists do not expect the burst in government stimulus to last, forecasting that expected growth around 2.9% this year and 2.7% in 2019 will be followed by a return to slower rates closer to 2%.

Interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve to guard against inflation and rising rates triggered by increasing government deficits are expected to slow growth in coming years.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Don’t want to call it a trade war but should stay away, says Raghuram Rajan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In his address at Kerala Global Future Summit, Former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan warned that the global economic situations could harm recovery in India and suggested that the country should “stay away”.

However, Rajan refused to term the situation a trade war. “I don’t want to call it a trade war but it’s important that we stay away since it could harm recovery”, he said.

Primed for economic combat, President Donald Trump set in motion tariffs on as much as $60 billion in Chinese imports to the U.S. on Thursday and accused the Chinese of high-tech thievery, picking a fight that could push the global heavyweights into a trade war.

Japan and China, the country’s closest allies, were hit with a separate round of tariffs on as much as $60 billion in imports to the U.S. China threatened retaliation, and Wall Street cringed, recording one of the biggest drops of Trump’s presidency. But he declared the U.S. would emerge “much stronger, much richer.”

Earlier this month, Trump signaled beginning of a global trade war by imposing heavy tariffs on import of steel and aluminium in the US.

Signing two proclamations that levied a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium, he claimed that the step was necessary to boost the industry in the country which was suffering from “unfair” business practices.  However, he exempted Canada and Mexico.

His surprising announcements have left other countries worried as it comes as a threat of  a global trade war.

The former RBI chief, in his address also stressed on technology and its fears as well as benefits. Rajan stated that India did not have “time to sit and watch how things evolve”, adding that “we have to move faster than we are moving today if, we have to take the full benefits of a technologically enabled world”.

Talking about the fears revolving around tech, Rajan said “It centre’s around not so much that benefits that technology brings of course, there are concerns about privacy and so on. But the fears largely are around jobs and job loss. Even in the industrial world where education levels are much higher there is a very strong fear that people will not have the incomes to benefit from all the bounty that technology offers.”

(With inputs from AP)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China may hike tariffs on US pork, aluminum, other goods

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods including pork, apples and steel pipe on Friday that it said may be hit with higher tariffs in a spiraling trade dispute with President Donald Trump that companies and investors worry could depress global commerce.

The Commerce Ministry urged Washington to negotiate a prompt settlement to the conflict over Trump’s tariff hike on steel and aluminum but set no deadline.

Separately, the ministry also criticized Trump’s decision to approve a possible tariff hike on billions of dollars of Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing’s technology policy. The ministry slammed that as “trade protectionism” but gave no indication how Beijing might respond.

Also read: Trump orders huge tariffs on China, raises trade war worries

The ratcheting up of tensions sent a shiver through world financial markets. Shares tumbled on Wall Street and slumped in Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 3.5 percent while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 3.1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.8 percent.

The dollar dipped to 104.85 yen as investors shifted into the Japanese currency, which is viewed as a “safe haven” from risk.

China’s proposed tariff hikes in response to the steel and aluminum duties appeared to be aimed at increasing domestic U.S. pressure on Trump by making clear which exporters, including farm areas that voted for the president in 2016, might be hurt.

“Beijing is extending an olive branch and urging the U.S. to resolve trade disputes through dialogue rather than tariffs,” said economist Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report. “Nevertheless, the first volley of shots and retaliatory response has been set off.”

The ministry said Beijing was considering a tariff increase of 25 percent on pork and aluminum scrap, mirroring Trump’s 25 percent charge on steel. A second list of goods including wine, apples, ethanol and stainless steel pipe would be charged 15 percent, mirroring Trump’s tariff hike on aluminum.

The ministry said Chinese purchases of those goods last year totaled $3 billion. That would be less than 1 percent of Chinese imports of U.S. goods and far smaller than the range of imports targeted by Trump’s order Thursday in the technology dispute.

American business groups have warned Trump his aluminum and steel tariffs could hurt the U.S. economy and disrupt exports.

Abroad, companies worry the dispute could spiral into tit-for-tat import controls by governments worldwide that could dampen global trade.

China’s top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, appealed to Washington on Tuesday to “act rationally” and said, “we don’t want to see a trade war.”

The higher American duties on aluminum and steel have little impact on China, which exports only a small amount of those products to the United States. But private sector analysts have said Beijing would feel obligated to take action to avoid looking weak in a high-profile dispute.

The Commerce Ministry said the higher U.S. tariffs “seriously undermine” the global trading system. It rejected Trump’s contention they are needed to protect U.S. national security.

“The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible,” the ministry said. It appealed for dialogue “to avoid damage to overall Chinese-U.S. cooperation.”

Beijing reported a trade surplus of $275.8 billion with the United States last year, or two-thirds of its global total. Washington reports different figures that put the gap at a record $375.2 billion.

The technology dispute stems from complaints Beijing unfairly compels foreign companies to hand over technology in exchange for market access. Companies in many industries including auto manufacturing that want to operate in China are required to work through local partners, which requires them to give technology to potential Chinese competitors.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said Trump’s action was in response to “unfair and harmful acquisition of U.S. technology.” The USTR said Trump had ordered it to pursue a World Trade Organization case against Beijing’s “discriminatory technology licensing.”

The U.S.-China Business Council, which represents American that do business in China, said it agreed Chinese “technology transfer” policies need to be improved but it appealed to both governments to reach a negotiated settlement.

“American business wants to see solutions to these problems, not just sanctions such as unilateral tariffs that may do more harm than good,” said USCBC president John Frisbie in a statement.

On Tuesday, the Chinese premier promised at a news conference Beijing will “open even wider” to imports and investment as part of efforts to make its economy more productive.

Li said that included eliminating tariffs on drug imports. But he gave no other details and it was unclear whether the planned changes might mollify Washington, the European Union and other trading partners that complain China improperly blocks access to its markets and subsidizes exports.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow