Posted on 03/29/2017 6:50:29 PM PDT by Theoria
President vowed changes to the high-skilled-worker program
President Donald Trump ran for office promising changes to the H-1B visa program, which brings high-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. But come Monday, the government opens another round of applications using rules that have long been in place.
Demand for the program badly outstrips the supply so, as in past years, the government will use a lottery to decide which companies get them. The visas are coveted by tech firms, who have unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to increase the cap, which is set at 85,000. The new visas become available each year in early April.
Large outsourcing firms typically scoop up a substantial share of the visas, and they have drawn scrutiny for importing foreign workers, particularly in cases where they are hired to do work once performed by Americans. Smaller firms that request just a few visas have said they have a hard time planning because of uncertainty about whether they will win any.
Changing that distribution would require a time-consuming rewrite of regulations governing the program, experts said. Given that no action was launched right away, the new administration has been expected to maintain existing rules for this year.
“There was a window in which the White House could have made serious reforms,” said Russ Harrison, director of government relations for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA, a professional society that lobbies for changes in the program. “For whatever reason, they decided not to take it.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
What window was this? They can change it at any time. I am sick of pontificating know nothings saying the time to do thugs has passed.
The fanboys will ignore this, or claim it’s part of some super IQ chess game.
No, this is very disappointing but we are still in the first inning. I am still a fanboy.
Congress was supposedly going to raise the minimum H1B wage to $120K. I guess they’re too busy debating health care, which might take a while.
Well at least it didn’t go up. Although there are so many exceptions that thousands get visas for things like education and non-profits blah blah blah.
This is a Country of over THREE HUNDRED MILLION ...we don’t need more people, we need more hiring of Americans instead of importing and brain draining from other countries. We have enough talent we just have companies wanting to take the cheap labor route get two indian engineers for the price of one native born.
The hell with visas, immigration, all of it. Moratorium for a couple of years would do wonders.
Great for all the SF bay area tech firms ... where they can pay an imported worker 1/2 and who don’t mind sharing a house with 10 other people.
This was low hanging fruit, I do not understand why it wasn’t picked.
Well stated.
Tackling the ILLEGAL alien issue is far more important than making changes to the H1-B program.
Oh BS. It is more important because it is easily doable. It takes 2 seconds to lower the quota to 10,000.
Amen
I’m sure that Trump is very flattered that you think he’s as omniscient and powerful as Jesus himself and has the power to do everything and anything you could possibly desire in only two months in office.
But I think you’re overestimating the man; I’m sure that hobo’s leprosy would have cleared up even if The Donald hadn’t touched him.
This should have been addressed.
keeping it at the same low number... and people on both sides scream...
Disagree completely. H1B needs to end, and more to the point, needs to be reversed.
>The fanboys will ignore this, or claim it’s part of some super IQ chess game.
It’s just politics. He’s waiting till closer to another election to collect the political gains from it.
Very, very disappointing.
I predict a lot more disappointment sadly...
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