Overseas technology professionals in the United States, including thousands from India, are grappling with intensifying uncertainty over their visa status as the country enters the fifth week of government shutdown. Stalled visa applications and frozen hiring plans have exacerbated the crisis that erupted after the Donald Trump administration began tightening the H-1B visa programme, according to law firms across Texas, California and the Midwest.
“Labor Condition Application (LCA) processing has stopped, forcing clients to halt H-1B filings," said Cincinnati-based Matthew Minor, partner at Corporate Immigration Partners. An LCA is a mandatory document employers must file with the Department of Labor (DOL) to hire foreign workers on H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 visas.
“This effectively halts all H-1B filings—new, change of employer, extension or amendment,” said Houston-based immigration lawyer Helene Dang, partner at Foster LLP.
More than 71% of H-1B visa beneficiaries in the US are Indian professionals.
Cleveland-based immigration attorney Richard T Herman said the shutdown has paralysed critical application processes nationwide. “The problems facing H-1B workers from India are the same, regardless of which state they work in—petitions cannot be filed now because the shutdown has prevented LCAs from being processed,” he said.
The DOL’s role in certifying LCAs and prevailing wage determinations—a prerequisite for H-1B petitions and green card sponsorships—has been disrupted. Though the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) remains operational, employers cannot file H-1B petitions without DOL-certified LCAs.
Dang said that USCIS’ alert offering relief for late or incomplete petitions under “extraordinary circumstances” provides little reassurance. “It is discretionary—meaning it is not guaranteed,” she said.
Washington-based immigration attorney Becki Young, founding Partner, Grossman Young & Hammond, said, “In the current climate where ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been vigorously flexing its removal powers, relying on this exception is anxiety-triggering for most H-1B workers, who are forced to either depart the United States or overstay their authorised period of stay.”
Moreover, these workers must be removed from payroll until a new H-1B petition can be filed, which disrupts US business and leaves the workers without a pay cheque while the shutdown is ongoing, she said.
Herman warned that the shutdown could have long-term ripple effects. “I am hearing of more companies deciding to cease immigration sponsorship in the future—whether H-1B or green card,” he said.
Alternative routes
Clients are exploring alternative routes such as the EB-5 investor or EB-1C categories, Herman said, adding, “Some are also looking at Canada and other countries.”
While the H-1B is a non-immigrant visa for workers in specialty occupations, the EB-5 is an immigrant visa for investors who create jobs and EB-1C enables a foreign company to transfer a manager or executive to a related US company.
The US shutdown—which began on October 1, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree to pass a bill funding federal government services after expiry of the previous budget—has also hit employment-based green card applicants who rely on the DOL for certifications.
Los Angeles-based immigration attorney Geetha N Adinata of FordHarrison said delays could create work gaps for those nearing maximum visa duration limits. Without the timely filing of the labour market test (PERM application), workers cannot legally work and may have to return temporarily to their home countries.
Besides the shutdown, the newly introduced $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B petitions is intensifying employer anxiety. Adinata said that none of her clients are currently prepared to pay it and that the combination of the fee and ongoing shutdown has placed foreign professionals and their families in precarious positions. Many have children in American schools and have lived in the US for years.
Santa Monica-based Bernard Wolfsdorf, managing partner, Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP, described the situation as “an artificial crisis for international talent and the US employers who depend on them”, The slowdown has especially hurt startups and tech firms, he said, adding, “Every delay in a visa or work authorisation translates to lost innovation. America’s competitiveness depends on a functioning immigration system.”
The employment-based green card backlog now exceeds 1.8 million pending cases, with Indians accounting for more than 1.2 million. Wait times for EB-2 and EB-3 categories exceed 15 years.
“When you add the indefensible country limits on these programmes, the prospect of losing a job and being without status after more than 15 years in the US is destabilising and stressful,” Herman said.
Gnanamookan Senthurjothi, founder, The Visa Code, an immigration platform focused on the US, said that for applicants who applied for the PERM process, the first step in getting the employment-based green card, the funding delay has impacted processing of labour certification as well. As part of the process, the DOL will need to issue permanent labour certification to the employer to allow the employee to work permanently in the US.
(With inputs from Swathi Moorthy in Bengaluru)
“Labor Condition Application (LCA) processing has stopped, forcing clients to halt H-1B filings," said Cincinnati-based Matthew Minor, partner at Corporate Immigration Partners. An LCA is a mandatory document employers must file with the Department of Labor (DOL) to hire foreign workers on H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 visas.
“This effectively halts all H-1B filings—new, change of employer, extension or amendment,” said Houston-based immigration lawyer Helene Dang, partner at Foster LLP.
More than 71% of H-1B visa beneficiaries in the US are Indian professionals.
Cleveland-based immigration attorney Richard T Herman said the shutdown has paralysed critical application processes nationwide. “The problems facing H-1B workers from India are the same, regardless of which state they work in—petitions cannot be filed now because the shutdown has prevented LCAs from being processed,” he said.
The DOL’s role in certifying LCAs and prevailing wage determinations—a prerequisite for H-1B petitions and green card sponsorships—has been disrupted. Though the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) remains operational, employers cannot file H-1B petitions without DOL-certified LCAs.
Dang said that USCIS’ alert offering relief for late or incomplete petitions under “extraordinary circumstances” provides little reassurance. “It is discretionary—meaning it is not guaranteed,” she said.
Washington-based immigration attorney Becki Young, founding Partner, Grossman Young & Hammond, said, “In the current climate where ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been vigorously flexing its removal powers, relying on this exception is anxiety-triggering for most H-1B workers, who are forced to either depart the United States or overstay their authorised period of stay.”
Moreover, these workers must be removed from payroll until a new H-1B petition can be filed, which disrupts US business and leaves the workers without a pay cheque while the shutdown is ongoing, she said.
Herman warned that the shutdown could have long-term ripple effects. “I am hearing of more companies deciding to cease immigration sponsorship in the future—whether H-1B or green card,” he said.
Alternative routes
Clients are exploring alternative routes such as the EB-5 investor or EB-1C categories, Herman said, adding, “Some are also looking at Canada and other countries.”
While the H-1B is a non-immigrant visa for workers in specialty occupations, the EB-5 is an immigrant visa for investors who create jobs and EB-1C enables a foreign company to transfer a manager or executive to a related US company.
The US shutdown—which began on October 1, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree to pass a bill funding federal government services after expiry of the previous budget—has also hit employment-based green card applicants who rely on the DOL for certifications.
Los Angeles-based immigration attorney Geetha N Adinata of FordHarrison said delays could create work gaps for those nearing maximum visa duration limits. Without the timely filing of the labour market test (PERM application), workers cannot legally work and may have to return temporarily to their home countries.
Besides the shutdown, the newly introduced $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B petitions is intensifying employer anxiety. Adinata said that none of her clients are currently prepared to pay it and that the combination of the fee and ongoing shutdown has placed foreign professionals and their families in precarious positions. Many have children in American schools and have lived in the US for years.
Santa Monica-based Bernard Wolfsdorf, managing partner, Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP, described the situation as “an artificial crisis for international talent and the US employers who depend on them”, The slowdown has especially hurt startups and tech firms, he said, adding, “Every delay in a visa or work authorisation translates to lost innovation. America’s competitiveness depends on a functioning immigration system.”
The employment-based green card backlog now exceeds 1.8 million pending cases, with Indians accounting for more than 1.2 million. Wait times for EB-2 and EB-3 categories exceed 15 years.
“When you add the indefensible country limits on these programmes, the prospect of losing a job and being without status after more than 15 years in the US is destabilising and stressful,” Herman said.
Gnanamookan Senthurjothi, founder, The Visa Code, an immigration platform focused on the US, said that for applicants who applied for the PERM process, the first step in getting the employment-based green card, the funding delay has impacted processing of labour certification as well. As part of the process, the DOL will need to issue permanent labour certification to the employer to allow the employee to work permanently in the US.
(With inputs from Swathi Moorthy in Bengaluru)
