India convey concern over H1B visa to US
Published on 31 January, 2017
New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) India on Tuesday said it has conveyed its concern to the US over a bill being introduced in the Congress to change rules on H1B visas which is likely to impact the Indian IT industry and Indian techies working in the US.
"India's interests and concerns have been conveyed both to the US administration and the US Congress at senior levels," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017, introduced in House of Representatives by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren, calls for doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to $130,000 from the current minimum wage of $60,000 - a move that could impact Indian techies.
The bill, likely to be signed by President Donald Trump, would make it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India, with lower wages.
As Trump was preparing to issue executive orders on H1B, the draft of the order was leaked and published by some news websites on Monday.
As per the leaked draft order, Trump would reverse his predecessor Barack Obama's extension of the duration of the optional practical training work visas, which allowed foreign students to stay in the US a bit longer after completion of their studies.
The bill would require that employers first offer a vacant position to an equally or better qualified American worker before seeking an H1B or L-1 visa holder.
It would also establish wage requirements for L-1 workers and improve H1B wage requirements to encourage companies to hire qualified American workers and prevent them from using foreign workers as a source of cheap labour.
"India's interests and concerns have been conveyed both to the US administration and the US Congress at senior levels," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017, introduced in House of Representatives by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren, calls for doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to $130,000 from the current minimum wage of $60,000 - a move that could impact Indian techies.
The bill, likely to be signed by President Donald Trump, would make it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India, with lower wages.
As Trump was preparing to issue executive orders on H1B, the draft of the order was leaked and published by some news websites on Monday.
As per the leaked draft order, Trump would reverse his predecessor Barack Obama's extension of the duration of the optional practical training work visas, which allowed foreign students to stay in the US a bit longer after completion of their studies.
The bill would require that employers first offer a vacant position to an equally or better qualified American worker before seeking an H1B or L-1 visa holder.
It would also establish wage requirements for L-1 workers and improve H1B wage requirements to encourage companies to hire qualified American workers and prevent them from using foreign workers as a source of cheap labour.
Trump likely to issue executive order to limit H1-B visas
Washington, Jan 31 (IANS) US President Donald Trump is preparing to issue executive orders on the H1-B and other visas that are the life blood of Indian technology companies in the US, his spokesperson Sean Spicer has indicated raising the likelihood of stringent restrictions being placed on them.
Spicer told reporters on Monday that H-1Bs and other visa are "a part of larger immigration reform effort that trump will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress."
"There is an overall need to look at all these programs and you will see that both through executive action and through comprehensive legislative measures a way to address immigration as a whole and the visa programmes," he said.
Before assuming office in January, Trump said that one of his first tasks would be to issue an executive order for the Labour Department to investigate visa abuses that he asserted undercut the wages of American workers.
Along with H1-B, Spicer mentioned spousal and others as categories of visas that Trump may act on.
H1-B visas are issued to qualified professionals. A related visa is the L1, which is given to employees of a company who are transferred to the US. Both of them are used extensively by Indian companies.
In 2015, President Barack Obama's administration permitted spouses of H1-B visa-holders to get permission to work.
Spicer said that these visas were part of the "larger immigration reform effort".
"You've already seen a lot of action on immigration," he added, referring to the temporary ban on visitors from nine countries from where this and previous administrations have perceived terrorist threats.
According to ComputerWorld magazine, nearly 86 per cent of H1-B visas for computer-related jobs and 46.5 per cent for engineering positions were given to Indians.
The US issues 85,000 H1-B visas every year, of which 20,000 are for master's degree holders from US universities. Because of the large number of applicants - 236,000 in 2016 - the H1-B visas were issued through a lottery system.
During his campaign and afterwards, Trump criticised the work visa system for the abuses in the way visas were obtained and the impact on American technology workers.
He vowed in a speech in December 2016, to end the practice of laid off American workers being made to train foreigners brought over to replace them.
He called these incidents "demeaning" and said, "We are not going to let it happen to our people any more."
Like Trump, some Democrats, also want to restrict H1-B visas.
Spicer told reporters on Monday that H-1Bs and other visa are "a part of larger immigration reform effort that trump will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress."
"There is an overall need to look at all these programs and you will see that both through executive action and through comprehensive legislative measures a way to address immigration as a whole and the visa programmes," he said.
Before assuming office in January, Trump said that one of his first tasks would be to issue an executive order for the Labour Department to investigate visa abuses that he asserted undercut the wages of American workers.
Along with H1-B, Spicer mentioned spousal and others as categories of visas that Trump may act on.
H1-B visas are issued to qualified professionals. A related visa is the L1, which is given to employees of a company who are transferred to the US. Both of them are used extensively by Indian companies.
In 2015, President Barack Obama's administration permitted spouses of H1-B visa-holders to get permission to work.
Spicer said that these visas were part of the "larger immigration reform effort".
"You've already seen a lot of action on immigration," he added, referring to the temporary ban on visitors from nine countries from where this and previous administrations have perceived terrorist threats.
According to ComputerWorld magazine, nearly 86 per cent of H1-B visas for computer-related jobs and 46.5 per cent for engineering positions were given to Indians.
The US issues 85,000 H1-B visas every year, of which 20,000 are for master's degree holders from US universities. Because of the large number of applicants - 236,000 in 2016 - the H1-B visas were issued through a lottery system.
During his campaign and afterwards, Trump criticised the work visa system for the abuses in the way visas were obtained and the impact on American technology workers.
He vowed in a speech in December 2016, to end the practice of laid off American workers being made to train foreigners brought over to replace them.
He called these incidents "demeaning" and said, "We are not going to let it happen to our people any more."
Like Trump, some Democrats, also want to restrict H1-B visas.
H-1B reform bill introduced in US House of Representatives
Washington, Jan 31 (IANS) A legislation that calls for doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to $130,000 from the current minimum wage of $60,000, has been introduced in US the House of Representatives -- a move that could impact Indian techies.
The bill, likely to be signed by President Donald Trump, would make it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India, with lower wages.
The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017 was introduced by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren and it prioritises market-based allocation of visas to those firms willing to pay 200 per cent of a wage calculated by survey, eliminates the category of lowest pay and raises the salary level to greater than $130,000.
This is more than double of the current H-1B minimum wage of $60,000 which was established in 1998 and has since remained unchanged, according to a statement.
"My legislation refocuses the H-1B programme to its original intent -- to seek out and find the best and brightest from around the world, and to supplement the US workforce with talented, highly-paid, and highly-skilled workers who help create jobs here in America, not replace them," said Lofgren.
"It offers a market-based solution that gives priority to those companies willing to pay the most. This ensures American employers have access to the talent they need, while removing incentives for companies to undercut American wages and outsource jobs," she said.
The act, Lofgren said, removes the "per country" cap for employment-based immigrant visas so that all workers are treated more fairly and to move to a system where employers hire the most skilled workers without regard to national origin.
It also removes visa hurdles for students and other temporary visa holders by building a bridge from F-1 student status (international students attending an academic programme or English Language Programme in the US) to Lawful Permanent Residence and removes paperwork burdens by streamlining H-1B filing requirements and reducing administrative costs.
US President Donald Trump's spokesperson Sean Spicer said that H-1Bs and other visa are "a part of larger immigration reform effort that President Trump will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress."
"There is an overall need to look at all these programmes, and you will see both through executive action and through comprehensive legislative measures, a way to address immigration as a whole and the visa programmes," he said.
Spicer said that these visas were part of the "larger immigration reform effort".
As Trump was preparing to issue executive orders on the H-1B, the draft of the order was leaked and published by some news websites on Monday.
As per the leaked draft order, Trump would reverse former President Barack Obama's extension of the duration of the optional practical training work visas, which allowed foreign students to stay on in the US a bit longer after completion of their studies.
Within 90 days of the signing of the executive order, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have to review all regulations that allow foreign nationals to work in the US and determine which of those regulations violate the immigration laws or are not in the national interest of America.
It would also immediately terminate all parole policies.
The bill would require that employers first offer a vacant position to an equally or better qualified American worker before seeking an H-1B or L-1 visa holder.
It would also establish wage requirements for L-1 workers and improve H-1B wage requirements to encourage companies to hire qualified American workers and prevent them from using foreign workers as a source of cheap labour.
Under the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform, the Department of Labour (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would have additional oversight authority to investigate fraud and abuse as well as to increase penalties for companies that violate the bill's requirements.
The bill, likely to be signed by President Donald Trump, would make it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India, with lower wages.
The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017 was introduced by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren and it prioritises market-based allocation of visas to those firms willing to pay 200 per cent of a wage calculated by survey, eliminates the category of lowest pay and raises the salary level to greater than $130,000.
This is more than double of the current H-1B minimum wage of $60,000 which was established in 1998 and has since remained unchanged, according to a statement.
"My legislation refocuses the H-1B programme to its original intent -- to seek out and find the best and brightest from around the world, and to supplement the US workforce with talented, highly-paid, and highly-skilled workers who help create jobs here in America, not replace them," said Lofgren.
"It offers a market-based solution that gives priority to those companies willing to pay the most. This ensures American employers have access to the talent they need, while removing incentives for companies to undercut American wages and outsource jobs," she said.
The act, Lofgren said, removes the "per country" cap for employment-based immigrant visas so that all workers are treated more fairly and to move to a system where employers hire the most skilled workers without regard to national origin.
It also removes visa hurdles for students and other temporary visa holders by building a bridge from F-1 student status (international students attending an academic programme or English Language Programme in the US) to Lawful Permanent Residence and removes paperwork burdens by streamlining H-1B filing requirements and reducing administrative costs.
US President Donald Trump's spokesperson Sean Spicer said that H-1Bs and other visa are "a part of larger immigration reform effort that President Trump will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress."
"There is an overall need to look at all these programmes, and you will see both through executive action and through comprehensive legislative measures, a way to address immigration as a whole and the visa programmes," he said.
Spicer said that these visas were part of the "larger immigration reform effort".
As Trump was preparing to issue executive orders on the H-1B, the draft of the order was leaked and published by some news websites on Monday.
As per the leaked draft order, Trump would reverse former President Barack Obama's extension of the duration of the optional practical training work visas, which allowed foreign students to stay on in the US a bit longer after completion of their studies.
Within 90 days of the signing of the executive order, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have to review all regulations that allow foreign nationals to work in the US and determine which of those regulations violate the immigration laws or are not in the national interest of America.
It would also immediately terminate all parole policies.
The bill would require that employers first offer a vacant position to an equally or better qualified American worker before seeking an H-1B or L-1 visa holder.
It would also establish wage requirements for L-1 workers and improve H-1B wage requirements to encourage companies to hire qualified American workers and prevent them from using foreign workers as a source of cheap labour.
Under the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform, the Department of Labour (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would have additional oversight authority to investigate fraud and abuse as well as to increase penalties for companies that violate the bill's requirements.
EMalayalee Available in MediaAppUSA
Copyright © 2024 emalayalee.com - All Rights Reserved.
Webmastered by MIPL, Web Hosting Calicut Kerala
George Bush was screwing up the economy even then he never touched the H1 VISA. Now the economy is growing, unemployment is 4.7% and there are plenty of job out there. (Thanks to President Obama). America will be great for corporations anyway. The changes Trump is making on H1 visa is to satisfy people like you who voted for him. You were made to believe by Trump that the reason your children are not finding job is because it is taken away by foreigners. This country is built on emigration from time immemorial. Every election cycle politicians used emigration issue a trump card to misguide moronic people. By introducing ban on travel Visa, by cutting down H1 visa, or by building wall he won't solve the issues of emigration; Most of the thinking people know about it. But unfortunately uneducated Malayalees (not all ) people with low IQ (IQ equal to the IQ of Bush), most Christians, and people who never spend a minute to think about the motives of these crooked politicians voted for Trump.