Explained: How US Government's H-1B Plan Will Benefit Indians

Under the pilot programme, Indian and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will not have to leave the US every time they need to get the visa renewed.

The US plan to announce in-country renewable H-1B visas during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden state visit will ensure that Indian professionals - who are issued the lion's share of such visas every year -  are spared the trouble of having to leave the country every time they need to get the document renewed. 

The H-1B visa, issued for three years at a time, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies use it to hire thousands of employees from India and other countries every year. 

Until 2004, some categories of non-immigrant visas, particularly the H-1B, could be renewed or stamped inside the US, news agency PTI reported. For renewal of H-1B visas since then, foreign workers had to go out of the US - mostly to their own country - to get the extension stamped on their passport.

This was a big hassle, particularly at a time when the wait time for some visas is over two years.