In a pincer-like attack that can hurt Indian IT industry and professionals, President Donald Trump is set to sign an order overhauling work visa programmes like H1B type while a legislation proposing doubling the minimum salary of foreign workers to USD 130,000 is in the works.
The draft of the executive order to be signed by Trump was leaked and published by some news websites says that the Trump administration would reverse former president Barack Obama's extension of the duration of the optional practical training work visas, which allowed foreign students to stay in the US a bit longer after completion of their studies.
Within 90 days of the signing of the executive order, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have to review all regulations that allow foreign nationals to work in the US and determine which of those regulations violate the immigration laws or are not in the national interest of America.
It would also immediately terminate all parole policies.
The executive order will also ask the Secretaries of Labour and Homeland Security to restore the integrity of employment-based non-immigrant worker programmes and better protect US and foreign workers affected by these programmes.
The draft order seeks the administration to "consider ways to make the process of allocating visas more efficient and ensure that beneficiaries of the programmes are the best and the brightest."
It also proposes to establish a commission or advisory committee to analyse the nation's current immigration policies and their impact on the American society, economy, work force, and the foreign policy and national security interest of the United States.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.
During his campaign, President Trump promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programmes.
"I think with respect to H1Bs and other visa is part of a larger immigration reform effort that the President will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters yesterday.
"You've already seen a lot of action on immigration and I think whether it's that or the spousal visas or other type of visas, I think there's an overall need to look at all of these programmes. You'll see both through executive action and through comprehensive measures a way to address immigration as a whole and the visa programme," Spicer said.
Meanwhile, a legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives which among other things calls for more than doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to USD 130,000, making it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers.
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