H-1B visa is the most in demand among IT professionals in India. (Proceedings)
Washington:
The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the computerized lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replacing it with a selection process based on salary level, a move that is expected to counter downward pressure on wages of US workers.
A notice about the new system will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Interested parties have 30 days to respond to the notification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, less than a week before the US presidential election.
Replacing the computerized lottery to decide on successful H-1B applicants, DHS said it is expected to help counter the downward pressure on American workers’ wages that is created by an annual influx of new cap- workers subject to H -1 B.
The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical experience.
If finalized as proposed, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would first select the records (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the prevailing wage level from Occupational Employment Statistics higher than the salary offered equals or exceeds for the corresponding Standard Occupational Classification code. and areas of intended employment.
“Prioritization and selection based on salary levels better balances the interests of petitioners, H-1B workers and US workers,” said DHS.
“With this proposed rule, the Trump administration continues to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy. The H-1B program is often exploited and abused by American employers and their American clients, primarily seeking to hire foreign workers. and pay lower wages, “said Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, interested in regulating the country’s immigration policies, signed the executive order on June 22 that temporarily prohibits the issuance of new H-1B and L-1 visas until December 31. Reforming America’s immigration regime is an important electoral promise from the Republican leader. under its America First policy.
“The current use of random selection to assign H-1B visas makes it difficult for companies to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the H-1B program to truly compete for the best and brightest in the world, and hurts American workers by bringing relatively lower earnings – foreign labor paid at the expense of American labor, ”Cuccinelli said.
According to DHS, modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a selection process based on salary level is a better way to assign H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply.
This new selection process would incentivize employers to offer higher wages or apply for positions that require more skills and more qualified workers rather than use the program to fill vacancies with relatively lower wages.
The proposed changes would maintain effective and efficient administration of the H-1B cap selection process while providing some potential applicants the ability to potentially improve their chances of selection by agreeing to pay H-1B recipients higher salaries that equal or exceed the highest prevailing wage levels. , He said.
This is necessary to further the administration’s goal of prioritizing registrations subject to H-1B limits for applicants seeking to employ higher-skilled and higher-paid workers, which is more aligned with the overall intent of Congress for the H-1B program, the DHS said.
Under the federal notification, prioritizing salary levels in the registration selection process incentivizes employers to offer higher salaries, or apply for positions that require higher skills that correspond to higher salary levels, to increase the probability of selection for an eventual request.
Similarly, it discourages abuse of the H-1B program to fill lower-paying and less-skilled positions, which is a major problem in today’s recruitment system. With limited exceptions, H-1B applicants are not required to demonstrate a labor shortage as a prerequisite for obtaining H-1B workers, he said.
The number of H-1B petitions subject to the cap, including those filed for the waiver of advanced degrees, has frequently exceeded the annual H-1B numerical allocations.
For at least the last decade, USCIS has received more H-1B applications than the annual H-1B numerical allocation in those respective years.
Since the 2014 tax cutoff season (April 2013), USCIS has received more H-1B applications (or registrations) in the first five days of filing (or initial registration period) than the annual H-1B numerical assignments.
The H-1B visa required by Congress has an annual limit of 65,000 visas.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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