The USCIS has also called for not issuing the H-2B visas to citizens of countries that are determined to be consistently refusing or unreasonably delaying repatriation of their nationals from the US with deportation orders.

Eight countries, including India, China and Iran, have been identified by lawmakers early this year as falling in this category. Other nations are Laos, Eritrea, Vietnam, Jamaica and Ethiopia.

Early this year, three Republican lawmakers had called for the suspension of Visas to countries that have refused to accept deported aliens from the United States.

The eight counties are said to have refused to repatriate a total of over 139,000 aliens. Of this number more than 18,000 are said to be convicted criminals who have been released back into the streets.

The Department of Homeland Security in announcing plans for revision of rules for the H-2B programme is now playing by the suggestions of lawmakers who have introduced legislations in the Senate and the House.

The H-2B non-immigrant temporary worker program allows US employers to bring foreign nationals to America to fill non-agricultural temporary jobs for which US workers are not available and India is one of the countries from where workers are sourced.

The suggestion by the USCIS includes reducing from six months to three months the time H-2B workers must wait outside the US before they are eligible to re-obtain status and crack down on employers or recruiters who impose fees on prospective H-2B workers in connection with or as a condition of an offer of employment.

In addition, it require an approved temporary labour certification in connection with all H-2B petitions and preclude, with limited exception, the change of the employment start date after the grant of the temporary labour certification.