Focus: GS-II International Relations
Why in news?
Indians students and white-collar professionals are ditching the “American dream” to pursue a Canadian one because of the increasingly restrictive visa and immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Details
- There are growing rumors and expectations that the U.S. President is going to scrap or freeze the H-1B visa programme and the optional practical training programme that allows graduate foreign students to intern in the US, because of the high unemployment rate due to coronavirus.
- New analysis of US government data shows Indian STEM students and skilled professionals were already veering away to Canada.
- In the 2016-17 academic year, almost 70% of international graduate students in computer science at US universities were from India.
Canadian Dream
- It is acknowledged that Canada is benefiting from a diversion of young Indian tech workers and students from US destinations, largely because of the challenges of obtaining and renewing H-1B visas and finding a reliable route to US permanent residence.
- The number of Indians who became permanent residents in Canada rose by more than 115%.
H-1B Visa
- The H-1B is a United States visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it is one of the most popular visas for foreigners visiting the US for business or trade purpose.
- It is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
- Speciality occupations include specialized fields like IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc. which usually require a bachelor’s degree or higher.
- US employers wishing to bring in staff for long-term assignment prefer H1B visa because its application is quicker than applying for a US Green Card.
-Source: Times of India
