Posted on 12/30/2017 10:46:28 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
The Department of Homeland Security is considering new regulations that would prevent H-1B visa extensions, according to two U.S. sources briefed on the proposal. The measure potentially could stop hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from keeping their H-1B visas while their green card applications are pending.
The proposal, being drafted in memos shared between DHS department heads, is part of President Donald Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” initiative promised during the 2016 campaign.
The administration is specifically looking at whether it can reinterpret the "may grant" language of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act to stop making the extentions. The act currently allows the administration to extend the H-1B visas for thousands of immigrants, predominantly Indian immigrants, beyond the allowed two three-year terms if a green card is pending.
“The idea is to create a sort of ‘self- deportation’ of hundreds of thousands of Indian tech workers in the United States to open up those jobs for Americans,” said a U.S. source briefed by Homeland Security officials.
Officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is under DHS, said they can’t discuss “any part of the pre-decisional processes.”
“The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment-based visa programs,” said Jonathan Withington, chief of media relations for USCIS.
The proposal is part of a series of new regulations the Trump administration is taking at the same time a bipartisan group of lawmakers moves forward on legislation to tighten rules that award visas to H-1B holders. The administration also has announced plans to end work eligibility for spouses of H-1B holders. In addition, the administration is considering changes to the allocation of H-1B visas to give priority to more highly educated and skilled workers.
While the H-1B issue doesn’t draw the same attention as other immigration-related policy deliberations, such as building a wall across the southern border, it is significant to American employers. Tech giants such as Facebook and other big companies, from Bank of America to Caterpillar, have long argued that the 85,000 annual cap on these visas is too low and that they need to bring in more foreign tech workers because they can’t find enough highly-skilled American workers.
On the other side, critics of the program say H-1B visas are increasingly being abused and that American workers are being laid off as U.S. companies send work to outsourcing companies that employ thousands of H-1B workers.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of the H-1B program in order to suggest changes to ensure the most skilled and highest–paid applicants receive H-1B visas. “This historic action declares that the policy of our government is to aggressively promote and use American-made goods and to ensure that American labor is hired to do the job. It's America first, you better believe it,” Trump said in April when announcing the executive order.
John Miano, a lawyer who represents American workers who say that they have lost jobs unfairly to low-skilled H-1B visa holders, said Trump can only do so much to fix H-1B program, which he said should be scrapped.
“You can throw a dart at a random provision in H-1B and delete and probably improve the problem,” he said.
Miano said he would welcome limits to the number of years. He has proposed pulling back the number to even three years. But expected that ultimately Congress would need to approve such a change.
The H-1B visa is typically issued for three to six years to employers to hire a foreign worker. But H-1B holders who have begun the green card process can often renew their work visas indefinitely.
The proposed changes would have a dramatic effect particularly on Indian visa holders considering more than half of all H-1B visas have been awarded to Indian nationals, according to the Pew Research Center.
Lawyers who represent the workers and companies expect lawsuits to be filed if changes to the program were sought without Congressional approval.
“This would be a major catastrophic development as many people have been waiting in line for green cards for over a decade, have U.S. citizen children, own a home,” said Leon Fresco, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department in the Obama administration who now represent H-1B workers.
Fresco estimates more than 1 million H1-B visa holders in the country are waiting for green cards, many of whom are from India and have been waiting for more than a decade.
Hundreds of thousands of potential new job openings in America for degreed professionals.
Billion dollar tech companies with wages that stagnated 20 years ago.
What? More pay for Americans and less inflation? The horror!
Cue the random obscure liberal judge who wants to play President.
Basically they taught the H.R. folks that they need to make the job requirements to be so difficult, long & hard that impossible to fill it and then present these jobs to a list at the State Dept and complain that the USA employees are not up to the task.
They then post these jobs overseas (i.e. India) where they do have tech workers but the foreign exchange rate is very favorable. In India the rate to the Rupee is 12:1 and to hire a Indian worker and pay them US $25,000 is a HUGE deal to them but its screwing the American workers at 1/3 the price.
I can categorically say that I’ve been going through a tough time in the job market EXACTLY because of the flood is non-usa workers here.
Inflation has occurred in spite of foreign labor flooding the market.
My rent has doubled in 20 years.
Hey I hope they Chang the program....in fact I hope they tighten it up to the point of nonexistence
Thank you President Trump.
I am saying that a lot of inflation is due to immigration. More people looking for goods and services plus lower productivity drives up prices and taxes.
If you come on a H1B work visa, you should have to leave the country to make application for a green card. What is this BS of jumping the line?
If they deport tens or hundreds of thousands of DACA people, Hondurans, etc. and don’t cut back on the H-1B program, it will be pretty clear how much money talks.
Making one small change would suffice.
If a foreigner offers a premium skill that no American can fulfill, then we need them.
A premium highly skilled employee - regardless of country of origin - deserves a premium wage.
Make it so those eeeeevil corporations don’t take unfair advantage of our brothers across the seas, every H-1b must be paid at least a 25% premium above the prevailing wage.
If they aren’t worth that premium, the company doesn’t really need them, they can hire a slightly less skilled American and make do...
There is quite a large Indian community where I live due to H-1Bs. This would make a huge change in short order.
I believe you, and it's been going on for at least 20 years of my 30 year career in I.T.
Wishing you a speedy and prosperous return back to the Information Technology sector in the New Year!
Please please Mr. President, cut off the American worker killer that is H1B!! IT companies are laying Americans off in droves for H1B workers and it gets worse every year.
Put him in Gitmo for crimes against America.
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