The Trump administration is all set to sign an executive order suspending immigration by 60 days. However, US workers and policy think tanks are far from happy and want the ban on temporary work permits, including H1-B.
According to them, the temporary ban should have ideally been on temporary work visas such as H1-B rather than a 60-day ban on immigration visas. Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Centre for Immigration Studies, in a tweet, reasoned that these temporary visas are not 'temporary' as most of them end up staying for a longer period.
Hence, these temporary workers undermine the US workers even more than green card holders, Krikorian added.
Indian H1-B visa and green card holders Indian tech companies are one of the largest beneficiaries of H1-B visas. Of the over two lakh registrants for H1-B lottery in FY21, 67 percent are from India. There are more than five lakh Indians in the US waiting for their green card (GC) under EB2/EB3 (green card through H1-B route) category.
Multiple immigration experts and attorneys Moneycontrol spoke to said that the 60-day ban may set back visa processing anywhere between six months to a year. However, these set backs are temporary given that most of these people have been waiting in GC queue for decades.
“Few more months will not matter,” added an expert.
US Tech Workers, a non-profit group representing American workers, reflected the sentiment in a tweet. “The Executive Order will not prohibit immigration in the US. It delays GC processing for 60 days; the majority of these foreigners waiting for GCs are already in the country on some kind of visa. And more new visa workers will be arriving.”
Job losses So the argument that H1-B workers taking away American jobs is hardly new. The Trump government has been trying to clamp down on visas since 2017. Number of rejections and request for evidence increased over the last three years.
These groups have been demanding for ban on immigration since the outbreak of novel coronavirus as the unemployment in the US rose. According to reports, there are close to 22 million unemployed in the US and this figure will only increase. Some peg this number to rise to 47 million.
The job loss has impacted H1-B visa holders in the US too. Dozens have lost their jobs and will have to come back since it is impossible to find a job within the 60-day window as per the Federal rule. Many of them have submitted request of change of status after their H1-B expired and are fearing immigration law implications including deportation.
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