President Donald Trump has promised to protect American jobs and create millions of employment. However, one of his measures could actually work against that promise, authorities have warned.
The US Congress is currently considering a legislation that would increase the wages of H-1B visa holders for skilled workers. CBS News noted that the H-1B visas were created in 1990 to help the country attract top global talents, remain globally competitive and fill job shortages. However, industry experts from India warned that by increasing the labor cost for skilled immigrant workers, companies might be forced to offshore these jobs.
As reported by Financial Times, India's IT companies, which are the biggest sponsors of the H-1B visas, said that Trump's crackdown on these visas would drive the jobs out of the US as their clients would see their costs surging. Almost 70% of H-1B visas granted are from India, which would be greatly affected by any reform to the program.
While many people would agree that the H-1B program is broken-jobs being given to foreign workers and American workers being left out, among other issues-The Huffington Post pointed out that companies, particularly tech firms and startups, would have to start looking for someplace else if the H-1B program is diminished or dismantled. They would prefer putting up their operations in other countries where there is an ample supply of skilled talents, as well as where they could save on costs.
Meanwhile, if the Trump administration is going to push through with introducing new policies for the controversial immigration work visas, new terms should be in by at most the next week. Time is running out as the deadline for visa application is in the first week of April, as reported by Bloomberg.
H-1B program has been under hot waters as its usage has been diverted from the original intent. It reportedly hurts American workers who lose their jobs, as companies prefer immigrant workers that are paid less.
