The Trump administration is reportedly challenging a record number of H-1B visa applications for high-skilled workers, a sign that the White House is cracking down on legal immigration.
Reuters reported Wednesday that the U.S. has issued more than 85,000 visa challenges to H-1B visa applicants this year, which is a 45 percent increase from the same period last year. The total number of H-1B requests in 2017 has risen by just 3 percent from 2016.
H-1B visas allow high-skilled foreign workers to temporarily fill highly specialized jobs in the U.S. that would otherwise go unfilled, usually in the technology, education, or health care fields. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google were some of the top users of this three-year visa program last year, according to the report.
One immigration attorney representing a Massachusetts healthcare system told Reuters that the Trump administration is doing everything it can to close loopholes in the H-1B program.
“They’re doing anything they can to delay the processing and adjudications and in their mind close any perceived loopholes,” Anthony Pawelski said.
Read more at:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/351498-trump-making-it-harder-for-skilled-foreigners-to-work-in-us-report