Bill To Remove H1B Visa Ban Introduced; More Salary For H1B Employees Proposed

Right since Donald Trump’s Presidency in 2016, the US Government has consistently been working towards making the immigration of foreign citizens into the US extremely difficult.

With the number of visas (both work and green card) falling down catastrophically and the number of RFEs (Request for Evidence) generated increasing, the US administration is cutting out all the options for securing AMerican jobs and standards for American citizens (only).

Especially after the global pandemic, resulting in over 10 mill employees filing for unemployment in March alone, the US is now getting more serious than ever in securing not just its boundaries but also job markets for American natives.

Amidst all of this commotion, Congressman Mo Brooks, an influential American lawmaker has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives, called the ‘American Jobs First Act’.

The New Act to Worsen the Case for H-1B Visa Workers

Congressman Mo Brooks from Alabama presented a new legislation in the House of Representatives on Thursday, which will prioritize American citizens for jobs in the US, over ‘cheap’ foreign labour.

According to the bill,

• Employers in the US will have to pay their H-1B workers more than the American workers.
• This will lead to companies hiring foreign workers only when extremely required, giving more chances to AMerican citizens.
• The F-1 OPT (Optional Practical Training) program for undergraduate and graduate students will be suspended.
• This visa status allows foreign students to work in the US for 1 year after completing their educational degrees, after which they can extend their work permit in the US as well.
• Suspending this program, the job market will eradicate competition for all foreign students.
• The new act will also bring an end to the diversity visa lottery program, which issues 50,000 green cards to foreigners every year, regardless of their qualifications.

American Jobs First Act to Kill American Dream for Foreign Citizens

Congressman Brooks says that through this Act the US workers will need the necessary reform and no longer experience disadvantages in their own country.

He added that the bill will make it compulsory for employers to pay a minimum amount of USD 110,000 to any H-1B worker they hire, so as to end the allure of cheap foreign labour and hire American workers instead.

“And to stop American worker replacement, my bill will require companies seeking H-1B labour to not have fired any American workers for at least two years without just cause and commit to not firing any workers without just cause for two years after”, he added.