Washington: The United States of America is planning to suspend the further issuance of H1B visas to immigrants, according to reports. Along with H1B, other types of work visas like H-2B visa for short-term seasonal workers, the J-1 visa for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and the L-1 visa are also being speculated to get suspended. H1B visas are the most in demand by IT professionals and engineering graduates of India.
It was taken into account after the rise of unemployment rates in the first world country during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of people have already lost their jobs and many others fear to lose them over time. However, this will mostly not affect the current H1B or any other work visa holder. Granting of any new or guest work visa is likely to get temporarily discontinued.
Officials said that Trump’s proposal could be implemented from the new financial year beginning from October 1st when many new visas are issued during this period, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
“That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected,” the news agency reported.
The decision was first pondered upon when four senators sent a letter of the President to suspend such work visas during the pandemic. They said that it was the reason why college graduates and citizens of America were finding it tough to land themselves a job.
“Given the extreme lack of available jobs for American job-seekers as portions of our economic begin to reopen, it defies common sense to admit additional foreign guest workers to compete for such limited employment,” read one part of the letter addressed to Trump.
“There is no reason why unemployed Americans and recent college graduates should have to compete in such a limited job market against an influx of additional H-1B workers, most of whom work in business, technology, or STEM fields,” the letter added. “Temporarily suspending the issuance of new H-1B visas would also protect the hundreds of thousands of H-1B workers and their families already working in the United States—workers who could otherwise be subject to deportation if they are laid off for more than 60 days.” The letter also requested the stay of the suspension for one year or until a time when the saturation of jobs is lifted.
The White House said that no final decision has been taken and the administration is considering various proposals.
“The administration is currently evaluating a wide range of options, formulated by career experts, to protect American workers and job seekers especially disadvantaged and underserved citizens, but no decisions of any kind have been made,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
Expressing concerns over the proposed suspension plan, the US Chambers of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue on Thursday wrote a letter to the President Donald trump.
“As the economy rebounds, American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs. To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world,” Donohue’s letter stated.
According to The Hill newspaper, Donohue said that American businesses require the support of technology professionals who are now left with a comparably smaller timeframe in their work visa.
“Policies that would, for example, impose wide-ranging bans on the entry of nonimmigrant workers or impose burdensome new regulatory requirements on businesses that employ foreign nationals would undermine that access to talent and in the process, undercut our economy’s ability to grow and create jobs,” Donohue added.
