US Brings in New H1-B Visa Rules to Put ‘American Workers First’

The news rules mandate US firms to pay higher wages to foreign workers and narrow the eligibility criteria for H1-B.

Trump’s call for the termination of the green-card lottery system may affect other VISA programs like the H1-B. 

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The United States of America (US) administration under President Donald Trump has introduced tighter rules for H1-B visas, an immigration visa used by firms for foreign workers, including those from India.

These rules come four weeks before the US Presidential election in which Trump is up against Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden.

The plan, introduced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will be implemented after a 60-day comment period makes it a requirement for firms to make a "real offer" to American citizens before seeking foreign workers.

It also substantially raises the wages that US companies will have to pay to foreign workers and narrows down the eligibility criteria for H1-B visas, reports The New York Times.

“With millions of Americans looking for work, and as the economy continues its recovery, immediate action is needed to guard against the risk lower-cost foreign labor can pose to the well-being of U.S. workers,” Patrick Pizzella, the deputy secretary of labor, told reporters on Tuesday, 6 October, said the report.

"We have entered an era in which economic security is an integral part of homeland security," said acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement to AFP

"Put simply, economic security is homeland security. In response, we must do everything we can within the bounds of the law to make sure the American worker is put first", he added.

The US administration had earlier sought to stop the H1-B visa, but an injunction was issued on the same last week by a federal judge.

(With inputs from AFP and The New York Times)