BENGALURU: In his political resurgence, Donald Trump’s second term as President would prioritise a tighter grip on immigration policies marking his return to national politics. Industry observers suggest that a potential second Trump presidency would likely have contrasting immigration policies. While taking strict measures against unauthorised border crossings, he would implement robust controls on employment-based visas.
Indian IT firms are the largest users of H1-B visas and non-immigrant visas that allow US firms to temporarily employ foreign workers. But in recent times, Indian IT companies have hired more locals and reduced their visa dependency significantly.
Brokerage firm Nomura’s recent report said that India could be adversely affected by tighter immigration policies. Indians received the highest number of work visas (H-1B visas) from the US, accounting for over 72% of the visas issued in the 2023 financial year. “Consequently, Indian Americans are emerging as an important political bloc in the US. The Trump campaign prioritised action against illegal immigration, particularly across the land borders, but even the legal immigration regime for professional workers and students could be tightened. For example, recently the US sharply increased the registration and application fees related to the H-1B visa,” the report said.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law practice at the Cornell Law School, said both legal and illegal immigrants will be hurt by a second Trump administration. “During his first term in office, Donald Trump hurt H-1B workers by restricting who could qualify, slowing down processing times, and issuing more denials. He is likely to do that again in his second administration, he said. Yale-Loehr also said a second Trump administration may try to make it harder for international students to work temporarily in the US after they graduate. “Moreover, because there are more conservative judges now than before, litigation to stop such efforts may be less likely to succeed.”
During the conclusion of his initial presidential term, Trump extended the ban on H-1B and L-1 work visas in a series of hardline immigration policies. Trump signed a proclamation suspending the issuance of certain categories of worker visas through Dec 31, 2021.
Cyrus D Mehta, managing partner of New York-based law firm Cyrus D Mehta & Partners, said he can see the Trump administration tightening the screws on legal immigration even though their focus so far has been on people coming through the border. “Indian IT firms will be impacted, and we already got a taste of that during the last Trump administration,” he said.