A new announcement from the US Government about the H-1b visa – there will be a sharp limit to the number of visas issued to skilled workers from abroad.
In June, Donald Trump had announced a temporary ban on the H-1b visa program, till the end of this year, given the affect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the employment situation around the world.
Read on to find out what the new rules about H-1b rules are right here!
New H-1b Visa Rules: Use Of H-1b To Be Limited; One-Third Applicants To Be Denied
As per officials, the decision of limiting visas to hand out to skilled workers from abroad has been a priority.
The officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor have revealed that there will be new rules on who can get the visa and how much they will be paid. These rules will be announced soon enough.
The Government is trying to limit the use of the H-1b program entirely.
As per the Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, the rules state that the estimates of the DHS have suggested that about one-third of the applicants should be denied the visa. There also is news that the new rules put a limit on the number of specialty occupations that are open to employees with an H-1b visa.
The US administration, led by Donald Trump, had promised that there would be a check on both legal and illegal immigration.
H-1b Visa Workers To Be Paid Higher Wages?
As per reports, there is a chance that the employers will pay higher prevailing wages to foreign workers. As per Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella, this shows that the job market needs to be revived from the dormant state that it was put in by the COVID-19 breakout.
He said, “With millions of Americans looking for work, as the economy continues its recovery, immediate action is needed to guard against the risk lower-cost foreign labour can pose to the wellbeing of US workers.”
Both Cuccinelli and Pizzella say that the program has been misused by companies to replace American workers with employees that are from foreign countries and are much less expensive.
Also, there will be a limit on “offsite” firms which employ H-1b visa holders and provide them to companies and also incur a fee for it. This has been a loophole and many frauds have happened under this.
There will also be an increase in workplace inspections.
The Department of Labor rules will be effective immediately after their publication in the federal register, which will be later in this week. Whereas, the rules under the Department of Homeland Security will be effective after a public comment period.
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