Downing the shutters: On H1-B visa halt

Context

# The White House has made a proclamation restricting the issuance of non-immigrant work visas (H1B) across the board, purportedly to clamp down on American jobs going to foreign workers, a consistent policy priority of the Donald Trump administration.

Halted Visas

# The broad-brush order includes the H-1B visa for skilled workers, which is widely garnered by Indian nationals, the H-2B visa issued to seasonal workers in the landscaping and hospitality industries, the L-1 visa for intra-company transfers, and the J-1 visa for students on work-study summer programmes.

# It will also impact the H-4 visa for dependents of H-1B visa holders.

# The proclamation will enter into force on June 24 and be applicable until the end of the calendar year, which notably includes the November 3 presidential election.

The objective of the order

# It is intended as a follow-on order to reduce the number of foreigners entering the U.S., as it comes on the back of the 60-day halt in legal migration that began on April 23.

# The latest restrictions will not apply to visa-holders who are already within the U.S., or those who are outside it and have already been issued valid visas.

Reason for this order

# The reasoning offered by the White House is that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has “significantly disrupted Americans’ livelihoods,” to the extent that the overall unemployment rate in the country nearly quadrupled between February and May 2020 to 13.3%.

# There is little doubt that the policies of the Trump White House are likely to genuflect to the broader requirements of the 2020 presidential campaign, one of which is a sharp focus on “America First,” or in this case the need to project aggressive action against American jobs allegedly being lost to foreign workers.

# This week’s proclamation offered data to bolster that claim, noting that between February and April, “more than 20 million U.S. workers lost their jobs in key industries where employers are currently requesting H-1B and L workers to fill positions”.

# Already Google CEO Sundar Pichai has responded by tweeting, “Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today.

Source: TH

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