Bad news for Indian techies, Trump slaps USD 100000 annual fee on H-1B visa holders, saying, ‘I think they are going to be very…’
A significant modification to the H-1B visa system has been announced by President Donald Trump. In order to sponsor an H-1B employee, businesses will now need to pay USD 100,000, or around Rs. 90 lakh.
The goal of this measure, according to the White House on Friday, is to ensure that only the most skilled individuals, particularly those who are difficult for American workers to replace—are brought to the United States. Trump stated, “Companies want workers, and we want the best workers,” as he signed the order at the Oval Office. This action will assist America in obtaining them. The tech sector will not oppose the measure, he added. “I think they’re going to be very happy,” he stated.
One of the most common visas for employment in the US is the H-1B. Through this programme, hundreds of Indians, particularly those working in the IT sector, relocate to the United States each year with the assistance of sponsoring American businesses.
The White House claims that the new regulations are intended to safeguard American workers and ensure that businesses only hire highly qualified individuals when absolutely necessary.
“The objective is to prevent large tech firms from depending on foreign labour,” explained U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. With a charge of USD 100,000, it just won’t be financially viable. Rather, businesses will hire and train recent graduates from U.S. colleges. By adopting this action, American jobs will not be taken by foreigners.
“The H1-B non-immigrant visa programme is one of the most misused visa systems,” says White House staff secretary Will Scharf. This is intended to enable the entry of highly trained workers into the United States of America who operate in industries that are not occupied by Americans. As a result of this proclamation, businesses will now have to spend USD 100,000 to sponsor H-1B applicants. This will guarantee that they are bringing in highly skilled individuals who cannot be replaced by American workers.
Concerning the H1-B visa
The H-1B visa program was originally designed to attract highly skilled foreign professionals for jobs that U.S. companies struggle to fill with local talent. But over time, it has become a channel for bringing in overseas workers who often accept salaries around USD 60,000 a year, much lower than the USD 100,000 or more that American tech workers usually earn.
First Lady Melania Trump, the former Melania Knauss, was granted an H1-B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model. She was born in Slovenia.
To fill positions that are difficult to fill in the United States, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and math, the H-1B visa program was established in 1990 to allow foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree to enter the country. Critics contend that the scheme is frequently abused, allowing businesses to underpay foreign workers while providing them with fewer safeguards than American workers.
A lottery system is used to issue 85,000 H-1B visas annually. With more than 10,000 visas this year, Amazon was the top recipient, followed by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Tata Consultancy Services. The state with the highest number of H-1B workers is California, according to data from the U.S. Immigration Services.
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