“Train the Americans,” said the secretary of the United States Commerce, some of whom depend on highly qualified foreign workers.
The President of the United States Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will add an annual commission of $ 100,000 (R $ 530,000) to the candidates for the H-1b Visa program for qualified foreign workers.
Trump’s order mentions the “abuse” of the program and will limit the item unless the payment is made.
Critics have long argued that H-1b visas have damaged the American workforce, while the defenders, including the billionaire, Elon Musk-Aague, which allow the United States to attract the best talents in the world.
In another order, Trump has created a new “gold card” to accelerate visa emission for some immigrants in exchange for $ 7.1 million commissions.
Trump’s order is expected to come into force on September 21st. It would only apply to new requests, but companies should pay the same amount for each candidate for six years, said the secretary of the United States Commerce Howard Lutnick.
“The company has to decide … if the person is precious enough to pay $ 100,000 per year in the government or should send them at home and hire an American”, he added, adding, “all large companies comply with this.”
Since 2004, the number of H-1B Visa requests has been limited to 85,000 per year.
So far, the H-1b visas have caused several administrative rates for a total of about $ 1,500 ($ 7.9 thousand).
The data of the United States citizenship and immigration service (USCIS) show that the H-1B visits for the next tax year have dropped to around 359,000: the smallest number in four years.
The greatest beneficiary of the program in the previous tax year was Amazon, followed by the giants of Tata, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google Technology, according to government statistics.
Friday evening, Amazon informed employees with H-1b visas that were already in the United States to stay in the country.
According to an internal declaration, seen from the site of the United States Business Insider, the company said that those abroad should “try to return before the deadline tomorrow, if possible.”
Anyone who cannot return before the order will avoid trying again in the United States “until more guidelines are provided,” says the company, according to the same source.
Tahmina Watson, founder of Watson Immigration Law, told the BBC that the decision could be a “fatal blow” for many of its customers, which are mostly small companies and startups.
“Almost everyone will be excluded because of the price. This initial value of $ 100,000 ($ 530,000) will have a devastating impact,” he added, observing that many small and medium -sized companies will say that they cannot find workers to do the job. “
“When employers sponsor foreign talent, most of the time, they do it because they could not fill these vacant places,” added Watson.
Jorge Lopez, president of the Little Mendelson PC Immigration and Global Mobility Group, said that a rate of this value “will stop American competitiveness in the technological sector and in all sectors”.
Some companies can consider the possibility of establishing operations outside the United States, although this can be demanding in practice, he added.
The debate on H-1B visas had already caused divisions within the Trump team and supporters, putting those in favor of visas against critics such as the former strategist Steve Bannon.
Trump told journalists to the White House in January which includes “both sides of the discussion” on H-1b visas.
The previous year, while trying to attract the support of the technological industry during the election campaign, Trump promised to facilitate the process of attraction of talents, even offering green cards for graduates.
“It takes a group of people to work in companies,” he told All-in Podcast. “You must be able to recruit these people and keep them.”
At the beginning of his first term, in 2017, Trump signed an executive order that increased control of H-1b requests to improve the detection of fraud.
The waste reached a historical record of 24% in the 2018 tax year, compared to 5% to 8% during the Barack Obama government and from 2% to 4% during the Joe Biden government.
At the time, technological companies reacted, hardly criticizing the H-1B order of the Trump government.
The possibility of further restrictions on the H-1B program has aroused great concern in countries such as India, which is by far the largest country of origin of these visa requests.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
