The global technology industry has been echoing a common message against Trump’s previous executive order of banning Muslims from 7 countries to enter the U.S. But, the said administration is now said to have introduced a legislation that might adversely affect the Indian IT sector and its professionals. This is also expected to be a part of the larger immigration effort launched by the newly elected President.
The Trump administration has today introduced a new H-1B reform bill that is aimed at bringing jobs back to Americans. Due to increased costs, professionals and capital have been moving away from the American homeland. But, Trump has already started working aggressively towards his goal of making ‘America Great Again.’
But let’s get one thing completely clear, this is a reform bill which has been introduced in the U.S House of Representatives. The President has the power to veto the bill before it goes to the Congress for approval. An executive order, on the other hand, is just an order issued by a President that is enforceable by members of the executive branch of the government. So, this is a BILL.
The reforms suggested in the bill titled ‘High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017’ has been presented by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren. The major change that has been put forth in this bill includes more than doubling the minimum salary for H-1B visa holders from $60,000 to $130,000. This is at least 200 percent higher than the wage calculated by survey and eliminates the category of lowest pay.
This is the minimum threshold at which H-1B employers are exempt from non-displacement and recruitment attestation requirements. The raise in salary level has been taken to a new required wage level of 35 percentile points above the median national annual wage — $132,000. Talking about the same, Lofgren adds,
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.
The congresswoman has put forth this reform bill to refocus the attention of the said work-visa programme towards supplementing the U.S workforce, instead of replacing it. This solution, she says, removes the per country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. All workers will be treated more fairly and lead to the implementation of a system where employers hire the most skilled workers.
The legislation has also set aside 20 percent (50 or fewer) of the annually allocated H-1B visas for small and startup employers to ensure they also have an opportunity to compete for high-skilled workers. This will protect them from outsourcing their work. The reform bill also adds to employee protection by stipulating that employers may not reduce beneficiary wages — doesn’t matter if it’s voluntarily authorised or not.
Further, Lofgren has also added,
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.
Further, this reform bill is also aimed at removing visa hurdles encountered by students and other temporary visa holders. The government will now better the said process by building a bridge from F-1 student status to Lawful Permanent Residence. It will remove paperwork and streamline H-1B requirements while also further reducing administrative costs.
This has also been represented in parallel with a new H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act, which will provide increased protection for both U.S. workers and visa holders. The reform will crackdown on fraud and abuse that enables corporations to avoid paying Americans fair wages and exploit foreign workers. Commenting on the same, Senator Sherrod Brown said,
During his campaign, President Trump promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programs and reform starts with this bipartisan legislation to ensure that American businesses are giving American workers a fair shot at good-paying jobs.
4 comments
Great decision , experienced profiles will get more opportunities
fake Ameerpet profiles will vanish, bad for IT managers who collect bribe and present fake profiles for H1B. Experienced candidates and Americans will not lose job.
Agreed. Am an Indian, IIT graduate, did masters from Carnegie Mellon. I had to compete with thousands of Fake Hyderabadi resumes. I was not the first one to picked for interview. They had to hire and fire three candidates because someone else interviewed for them. These guys will ask for 60k and I can never compete with them in that.
I really hope this happens after seeing so many IT departments decimated by people who train for three months in India and then put down years of experience on their resume so they can displace an American worker. If it were up to me, I’d eliminate the program entirely but this is a good start!
Really? That means only the big companies located in big cities will be able to hire skilled immigrant labor, leaving small companies dead in the water.