What is the H-1B visa program and how is Trump changing it?

President Donald Trump continued his wide repression of immigration on Friday, turning his focus to a visa program for qualified foreign workers. He has signed a proclamation that adds a $ 100,000 fee to new H-1B visa candidates, which allows foreign workers, such as software engineers, a chance to be employed in the United States.

The H-1B visa is created to help companies fill vacancies for which American workers with similar skills are not found. However, advocates of a stricter immigration policy and far -right activists have long argued that the visa allows companies to replace American workers with foreigners. The question even divides Trump’s supporters, and the president’s position on the program has changed over time.

Prior to the signing of the new proclamation in the Oval Hall on Friday, Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, explained the justification for the rate that the administration is imposing on what he called the “most abused visa.”

“The idea is that these large technology companies or other companies no longer train foreign workers,” said Lutnick. “They will have to pay the government $ 100,000 and then pay to the employee-then it’s not economical. If you are going to train someone, you will train one of the newly graduated from one of the great universities of our country.”

The rate will probably face legal challenges. He was expected to take effect on Sunday and will be required only for new candidates, according to a Memorandum of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released on Saturday.

What is the H-1B visa program?

Congress approved the legislation that created the H-1B program in 1990, given the perspective of labor shortages. When George Bush sanctioned the law, he said the program “would encourage the immigration of exceptionally talented people, such as scientists, engineers, and educators.”

Employers use visas – valid for three years and renewable – to hire foreign workers with specialized skills, especially in science and technology, to fill vacancies for which qualified US workers are not found.

Employers submit a petition to the government on behalf of the foreign worker who want to hire, describing the work and qualifications of the selected person. The H-1B program gives a temporary status in the US, not permanent residence. However, many employers end up sponsoring these workers to obtain Green Card, which paves the way for American citizenship.

On Saturday, there was still confusion about how the new rate would work. Lutnick said on Friday that she should be paid annually by the American company that hires the foreign worker. But one day later, White House Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on a social network that the $ 100,000 would be a unique rate.

Who are the workers of the program?

Congress offers 65,000 H-1B visas per year for workers with a bachelor or equivalent diploma, and another 20,000 for those with a master’s or higher degree. Universities and research organizations are exempt from these limits.

Many of the workers who receive the visas are software engineers, programmers and other technology professionals. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and IBM are among the companies that have employed the H-1B visa last year, according to USCIS. But many work in other professions, including education, health and manufacturing.

There is no limit per country, and the vast majority of beneficiaries come from India.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India highlighted the ties between the two countries in a Facebook post on Saturday and expressed concern that abrupt changes could have “humanitarian consequences” for families. Many patients with the H-1B visa bring their spouses and children to the US, where they can live together for decades with dependent visas.

Why is the H-1B program criticized by some Republicans?

There are about 730,000 patients with H-1B visa in the US, according to the estimated year of the FWD.US Immigration Defense Group. This number is a small fraction of more than 163 million people employed in September.

Critics of the visa argue that American employers often use H-1B to hire foreign workers willing to accept lower wages than Americans seeking the same vacancies. Many of these critics are Republicans who support Trump and share their rigid posture on immigration.

However, some of Trump’s leading supporters are technology industry leaders, which strongly depends on H-1B workers because they claim not to find enough qualified Americans for the same positions.

The announcement of the new rate has generated chaos and confusion in various sectors, but should especially impact the technology industry.

Do H-1B visa bearers replace American workers?

To obtain the H-1B visa, employers considered “H-1B dependent” by the government must recruit domestic candidates first. Employers are required to pay H-1B workers at least the “real salary” of similar workers, or the “prevailing salary”, defined by the government as “the average salary paid to workers employed in similar occupations in a specific locality.”

There were cases where the program was used to bring immigrants to positions held by American workers. In 2015, about 250 Walt Disney World technology workers, near Orlando, Florida, were fired and had to train their substitutes-patients with H-1B visa brought by an outsourced company in India. Similar episodes have affected employees of the toys “R” US and the New York Life Insurance Co. that year.

The program requires employers to pay to H-1B workers, at least, the average salary for the position and the city where it is located, or the average salary of US workers who perform the same function. Companies are prohibited from paying H-1B workers less than other employees with similar skills and qualifications. Still, about 60% of the vacancies paid “far below” the local median for occupation in 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which cited the “wide discretion” of the Labor Department to define the H-1B salary levels.

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