Donald Trump may announce foreign workers’ visa restrictions today

Asked if there would be exclusions from the new restrictions, Trump said very few.

President Donald Trump said late on Saturday he would announce new restrictions on visas within a couple of days to block the entry of certain foreign workers and protect Americans struggling with a job market devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re going to be announcing something tomorrow or the next day on the visas,” he told Fox News Channel. Asked if there would be exclusions from the new restrictions, Trump said very few. “You need them for big businesses where they have certain people that have been coming in for a long time, but very little exclusion and they’re pretty tight,” he said. “And we may even go very tight for a period of time.” Trump, who has been expected to announce new restrictions, declined to provide further details.

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Critics have said Trump looked set to use the pandemic to achieve his longstanding goal of limiting immigration into the United States. His tough stance on immigration is central to his pitch to voters as he runs for re-election. Major American companies, particularly in the tech sector, have urged Trump to refrain from blocking the flow of foreign workers into the United States, saying it would hurt the economy. The new action would be Trump’s latest step to restrict immigration in response to the pandemic and economic fallout.

In April, he ordered a temporary block on some foreigners from permanent residence in the United States. He also announced new health-focused rules in March that allow for the rapid deportation of immigrants caught at the border and virtually cut off access to the US asylum system.At the same time, he announced the land borders with Canada and Mexico would be closed to non-essential crossings, a measure that has been extended several times.

US hikes H-1B application fee by $10 as part of revised selection process

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency

The United States has announced the increase of H-1B work visa application fee by $10 as part of its revised selection process.

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday. “This effort will help implement a more efficient and effective H-1B cap selection process,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.

“The electronic registration system is part of an agency-wide initiative to modernise our immigration system while deterring fraud, improving vetting procedures and strengthening program integrity,” he said. The H-1B Visa programme allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with the USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended, the USCIS said. The federal agency is slated to implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap selection process, pending completed testing of the system.

Serious action by US on H1-B visa would worry India quite a bit: CEA

Anything that is going to interfere with export growth creates anxiety (in India)

 

Any "serious actions" taken by the Trump Administration on the H-1B visa programme would be a cause of "worry" as a majority of Indian exports in the services sector go to the US, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has said.

"If there are serious actions taken it's something that's going to kind of worry us a lot because, remember that our exports of services are about 40 to 45 per cent of the total exports," Subramanian told an audience here last week.

"Something like 50 to 60 per cent of all our exports of services goes to the United States. So it would worry us quite a bit," he said while responding to a question on the H1-B visa during his visit at the Peterson Institute, a top American economic think-tank.

Subramanian said that India would be "okay" as long as the visa reforms are manageable and it's keeping a close watch on it.

"Anything that is going to interfere with export growth creates anxiety (in India). In the context of the United States, we're all watching very carefully the H1-B visa situation," the Chief Economic Advisor said.

"On the visa side, I don't know but as long as you know we can keep this thing manageable. You know it should be okay," he said.

During his US visit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also taken up the the H-1B issue with the American side and highlighted the contribution Indian companies and professionals are making to the US economy.

President Donald Trump had earlier this month signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop its "abuse" and ensure that the visas are given to the "most-skilled or highest paid" petitioners, a decision that would impact India's USD 150 billion IT industry.| READ MORE