H-1B Visa Ban Removed! US Judge Stops Trump From Enforcing H-1B Visa Ban

The second wave of relaxations for H-1B visas and other work visas!

A federal judge has stopped the US government from enforcing the ban on the entry of H-1B visa workers in the US till December 31, 2020.

Read on to know more…

US Judge Says Trump ”Exceeding His Constitutional Authority”!

As per reports, the District Judge Jeffrey White of the northern district of California on the June 22 order of the extension the H-1B visa ban said that the President, Donald Trump had “exceeded his constitutional authority”.

This comes as a huge relief for the Indian IT companies in the States. 

The order was made available on Thursday and will be enforced across the US. 

Judge White in his order also said that such “unrestricted authority would be contrary to Congress’ explicit delegation of powers in foreign affairs and national security”.

The order read, “There must be some measure of constraint on Presidential authority in the domestic sphere in order not to render the executive an entirely monarchical power in the immigration context, an area within clear legislative prerogative.”

Earlier, White had put a preliminary injunction on the implementation of a new fee hike on H-1B and L1 work visa programmes for the current year.

Previous Relaxations on H-1B and Other Work Visas!

The first relaxations were imposed by the US State Department in August wherein it had decided to allow H-1B visa holders who were public or private healthcare professionals or were engaged in medical research “in an area with a substantial public health benefit” to come to the US.

The workers allowed to enter the US in August were-

1. Visa holders who had the same jobs before the visa ban proclamation
2. Dependents (spouses and children) along with the primary visa holder.
3. Technical specialists, senior-level managers necessary for the recovery of the US economy.
4. Visa holders working in public healthcare or research to help in the COVID-19 pandemic or a medical field that will benefit public health.
5. Visa-holders working for a US entity to meet critical US foreign policy objectives or to satisfy treaty or contractual obligations. “This would include individuals, identified by the Department of Defense or another US government agency, performing research, providing IT support/services, or engaging other similar projects essential to a US government agency”, read the advisory.