Trump admin imposes new curbs on H-1B visas to safeguard US workers ahead of presidential election
09 October, 2020
The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved limited to qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which will probably affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
The interim final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, significantly less than four weeks prior to the US presidential election, will narrow this is of specialty occupation as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the machine.
It will require companies to create real offers to real employees, by closing loopholes and avoiding the displacement of the American workers. And lastly, the brand new rules would enhance the department's capability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during and after an H1-B petition is approved.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to hire foreign personnel in speciality occupations that want theoretical or technical expertise.
The technology companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees every year from countries like India and China.
Such a decision by the Trump administration is likely to have an adverse effect on a large number of Indian IT professionals. Already a sizable number of Indians on the H-1B visas have lost their jobs and so are headed back home during the coronavirus pandemic that has severely hit the US economy.
In line with the Department of Homeland Security, the interim final rule to be published in Federal Register will succeed in 60 days.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the united states Citizenship and Immigration Services is forgoing the standard notice and comment period to immediately make sure that employing H-1B workers will not worsen the monetary crisis due to COVID-19 and adversely affect wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers, it said.
The pandemic's financial impact can be an "obvious and compelling fact" that justifies good cause to issue this interim final rule.
"We have entered a time in which monetary security can be an integral part of homeland security. Quite simply, economic security is homeland security. In response, we should do everything we are able to within the bounds of regulations to make certain the American worker is put first," said Acting Secretary Chad Wolf.
US Secretary of Labour Eugene Scalia said that these changes will strengthen foreign worker programmes and secure American workers' opportunities for stable, good-paying jobs.
"The US Department of Labour is strengthening wage protections, addressing abuses in these visa programmes and ensuring American staff aren't undercut by cheaper foreign labour," she said.
In a conference call with reporters, Deputy Labour Secretary Patrick Pizzella said that these changes were long overdue and it had become imperative in light of the existing conditions in the US labour market.
"We're making good on the president's promise to safeguard Americans from those who seek to exploit the machine because of their gain," he said, adding that the rule would "make sure that Americans are first in line for American jobs as we continue our recovery".
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the H-1B programme was designed to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce and remain competitive in the global economy, however, it has now expanded far beyond that, often to the detriment of US workers.
Data shows that a lot more than half-a-million H-1B nonimmigrants in america have been used to replace US workers, which has resulted in reduced wages in several industries in the US labour market and the stagnation of wages using occupations, said the Department of Homeland Security.
"This is part of a more substantial Trump administration goal in coordination with the Department of Labour to safeguard American workers," it said.
The Department of Labour said that the prevailing wage rates in these programmes play an intrinsic role in protecting US personnel from unfair competition posed by the entry of less expensive foreign labour in to the US labour market.
It is important that the methodology used by the Department in calculating the prevailing wage rates accurately reflect what US personnel performing the same sorts of jobs and with similar qualifications make to make sure employers cannot use foreign employees in place of US workers, it said.
The Interim Final rule, it said, will increase the accuracy of prevailing wages paid to foreign personnel by bringing them based on the wages paid to similarly employed US workers.
This will make certain that the Department more effectively protects the work opportunities and wages of American staff by removing the monetary incentive to hire foreign staff on a permanent or temporary basis in america over American workers, it said.
Trump, a Republican, is seeking another term in the White House. He's being challenged by former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party in the November 3 presidential election.
In June, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas before end of 2020 to safeguard American workers.
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