Democrats, in general, have been more lenient on immigration compared with Trump, who made it part of his poll agenda with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict the issuance of H-1B visas, which his administration alleges are used by companies to replace American workers with cheaper labour from India.
“The Democratic sweep gives Congress significant power to challenge Trump’s immigration agenda, but not automatically reverse it. Democrats can block new legislation, scrutinize executive actions, restrict funding and pursue legislative remedies. However, Trump retains executive authority and veto power. The immediate impact will be greater accountability and resistance rather than wholesale reversal of visa and green card restrictions,” said Poorvi Chothani, managing partner of immigration law firm LawQuest.
The $100,000 H-1B fee, wage-weighted lottery and proposed higher prevailing wages also remain important areas of contention. Congressional pressure and litigation could weaken some measures, but the administration controls much of their implementation. “I expect greater scrutiny, potential concessions and possibly a moderation of enforcement rather than an immediate return to earlier policies,” she added.
The US government has been adopting several measures to stem the influx of skilled immigrants through the country’s visa process. These measures have already led to a significant drop in IT companies opting for H-1B visas.
“The government never had any control over the immigration law. But they circumvented it through holes or using the guise of emergency and rule the country with executive orders. They were using executive orders to overrule the Congress which will not happen anymore and it is unlikely they will be able to do everything with executive order. Regulations that are overtly oppressive is likely to be overruled by Congress,” said Rajiv Khanna, managing attorney at the Law Office of Rajiv Khanna in Virginia.
The number of properly submitted, or eligible, registrations fell 38.5 per cent to 211,600 for FY27, from 343,981 a year earlier, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in May. IT companies such as TCS, Infosys and Cognizant have thus filed for extensions of H-1B visas for onsite employees. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of transfer petitions.
The government has also cancelled the permanent labour certification (PERM) programme for companies such as Cognizant over allegations of bringing in less expensive workers at the expense of local counterparts. Indian companies have been trying to reduce their dependence on H-1B visas and the PERM programme over the past few years as the US government has ratcheted up pressure.
