Trump Orders Freeze on Many Work Visas Through End of Year By Justin Sink June 22, 2020, 3:22 PM EDT Updated on June 22, 2020, 5:52 PM EDT Order freezes new H1-B, H-4, L, most J, some H2-B visas Trump’s order comes after unemployment rate hit 13.3% Donald Trump Photographer: Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg President Donald Trump signed an order Monday temporarily halting access to several employment-based visas, affecting hundreds of thousands of people seeking to work in the U.S. The order freezes new H1-B and H-4 visas, used by technology workers and their families, L visas for intracompany transfers, and most J visas for work- and study-abroad programs, including au pairs, through the end of the year. The issuance of new green cards will also remain halted through the end of the year. The action will also pause some H2-B visas for seasonal workers, with an exception for those in the food-processing industry, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters Monday. Trump acted with the U.S. facing an unemployment rate of 13.3% after businesses closed or reduced staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The president’s order won’t affect immigrant workers who already hold the visas. “Under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers,” Trump said in his order. Speaking Saturday in an interview with Fox News, Trump said he wants Americans to take jobs that would otherwise go to people granted the visas. “We have plenty of people looking for jobs,” he told Fox. “I think it’s going to make a lot of people very happy. And it’s common sense.” Trump tweeted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic that he planned to “temporarily suspend immigration into the U.S.” Industry groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Information Technology Industry Council, wrote to Trump to express concern that restrictions would disrupt business and hamper growth. The U.S. issued more than 900,000 visas in fiscal year 2019 in the categories Trump plans to freeze. In the past few years, the administration has moved to tighten the H-1B program, and the approval rate for applications has fallen. The technology industry has relied on H-1B visas to hire foreign talent, particularly in the fields of science and engineering. Critics say some companies have abused the program to displace American workers. H-1B visas are temporary work authorizations for people with highly specialized knowledge. The current cap for those visas is 85,000 annually. H-4 visas are issued to immediate family members of H-1B visa holders. The Computing Technology Industry Association, which includes IT companies, called the administration’s actions on H1-B visas “extremely disappointing.” “H-1B visa holders do not supplant American workers but instead help ensure U.S. innovation and economic growth,” said Cinnamon Rogers, the group’s executive vice president for public advocacy, in a statement. “Making it more difficult for bright minds to work in the United States only benefits our competitors abroad who will attract their talents to build and develop cutting-edge, job-creating goods and services.” The H1-B program will be restructured to put an emphasis on would-be immigrants with the highest salary offers once the program restarts next year, the official said. L visas are for temporary intracompany transfers for those who are in management positions or have specialized knowledge. J visas are for work- and study-based exchange visitor programs, including au pairs.
It is funny because the jobs these visas are used for are not the jobs the economy lost or are reflected in the unemployed. I am sure he will spin it to say he acted to protect American workers who were laid off but the timing says it is just to set up an election slogan promise.
In my opinion this is an absurd move on the part of Trump. The people coming to the U.S. on H1-B Visas are generally highly educated and work in the tech sector generally --- adding significant value to our economy. We should be looking to reform the H1-B Visa system to make is simpler and easier --- so we can compete with Canada & other countries for the best talent. What Trump should have done is alter the requirements of H1-B Visas so visa holders are not tied to a single employer but can go to any employer in the U.S. This would stop visa holders from being treated poorly as lower paid indentured individuals but allow them to go next door to easily get a pay raise. This would eliminate the industry wage deflation from HA-B Visas --- and allowed visa holders to be paid properly for their skills.
This is a strawman. Often times the talent that comes from foreign nations isn't fitting the bill of "recruiting the brightest minds". If it did no one would complain. This isn't recruiting a 10x developer from Bangalore, India because they're the best at what they do. It's not about recruiting the top Artificial Intelligence researcher in China. It's about recruiting code monkeys for code monkey work. The bottom-rung entry level developer/engineer/etc positions. The H1-B system allows InfoSys and it's ilk to recruit low quality talent at rock bottom prices. The talent is at least as low quality as an American alternative but they prefer H1-Bs. Why? They can hold them hostage. An H1-B is designed not for a job at DevelopmentCorp but really for higher technical jobs. Think CTOs, architects, researchers in private companies, etc. Jobs you can't just get out of school and have a limited pool of workers to chose from. This in practice is not the case. Your average H1-B is a code monkey with approximately equal to or less skill than a comparative American code monkey. Don't be deluded into thinking the H1-B program in it's current form is about anything but labor price. The rules for H1-B are strict in terms of work possibilities, and a limited pool of work (even if you allowed them to go between jobs) would still result in wage deflation. His number, approximately 525,000, is probably about right if he's only considering STEM jobs. There are plenty of fresh grads coming out of school who can fill a seat in a job that doesn't require significant expertise or natural talent. These jobs should go to Americans first. The H1-B program can then be used to fill highly technical expertise jobs that the current labor pool cannot supply. I find it hard to believe "Junior Java Developer I" is a "highly technical and difficult position" that a company couldn't fill using American talent. H1-Bs in there current form and your proposed form both create opportunity for labor arbitrage which is what everyone is complaining about.
You know you're doing the right thing when The Bushies and their cronies come after you! Lame. https://www.bushcenter.org/publicat...-immigration-will-hurt-americas-recovery.html https://www.breitbart.com/immigrati...nter-opposes-donald-trumps-migration-reforms/
Trump’s Visa Freeze Could Help Funnel Talented Workers to Canada https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-could-help-funnel-talented-workers-to-canada Donald Trump’s latest move to restrict immigration to the U.S. might wind up being a windfall for Canada. With Covid-19 travel restrictions in place, Justin Trudeau’s plan to drive long-term growth by welcoming more and more newcomers has been sidelined. But the U.S. president’s decision this week to freeze access to certain employment visas gives Canada an opportunity to win back some of the workers it loses to America. “The immigrants will come back in the long term once we are on other side of this crisis, but the more permanent change might be the impact on returning citizens,” Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said by phone from Toronto. Both the shift toward remote work during the pandemic and the U.S. restrictions on immigration could draw more Canadians home, reversing a persistent “brain drain” effect in the northern nation, Tal said. He estimates that each year about 100,000 Canadians move abroad, with a majority entering the U.S. And with Trump’s move likely to hit immigrants from all countries, Canada could also poach those workers for jobs in its burgeoning tech scene and other sectors. Ottawa-based Shopify Inc. was quick to pounce on the idea. Its chief executive officer, Tobias Lutke, touted Canada as a relocation option Tuesday after Trump’s announcement a day earlier. Tech giants have been expanding their operations in Canada’s major cities in recent years because of the country’s access to high-skilled talent. Google announced plans this year to build new offices in Toronto, Montreal and Waterloo, Ontario by 2022. Amazon.com Inc. is also expanding its Canadian footprint, leasing space in a new Vancouver office tower and unveiling plans to build a major fulfillment center in Toronto. “We see Canadian companies being able to access talent from all over the world very quickly whereas their U.S counterparts can’t,” said Geoff Baum, a fellow at the Lazaridis Institute at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. “Not only are Canadian companies able to take advantage of this but you see lots of American companies who are establishing offices in Canada because they can get access to talent more easily,” he said.