Harvard University calls Trump's H-1B visa suspension a 'short-sighted policy'

Harvard University spokesperson Jonathan L Swain said on June 25 that US President Donald Trump-ordered temporary suspension of foreign work visas including the H1-B a “short-sighted policy”. According to media reports, the top American University has also noted that the recent proclamation threatens the engagement of scholars even though it does not affect the student visas or Optional Practical Training (OPT). While Trump has defended the move by saying it was essential in a bid to help millions of Americans who became unemployed due to the impact of coronavirus outbreak, it banned the entry of certain non-immigrant visa holders including the most sought H-1B.

"In our view, this is a short-sighted policy that threatens scholarly engagement," Swain told the university publication The Harvard Crimson.

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The “disappointed” Harvard Administrators including University president Lawrence S Bacow had previously called on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo along with the acting Secretary of Homeland Security Security Chad F Wold to enact “forward-thinking immigration policies” on June 2 through a letter. According to the Harvard Crimson article, a professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, W Yale-Loehr had also written an email that Trump’s Executive Order could impact the affiliates of the university in several ways.

“If Harvard has a new employee overseas who planned to apply for an H-1B temporary work visa or an existing employee overseas trying to renew his or her H-1B visa, the new proclamation prevents that,” Yale-Loehr wrote.

“If a Harvard employee is in the United States on an H-1B visa but his or her spouse is overseas and planned to apply for an H-4 visa, the new proclamation prevents that,” he added. “The couple may be separated for a long time.”

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USIBC calls the move counterproductive 

Harvard's disagreement with the proclamation came after Nisha Desai Biswal, president of US India Business Council has said that US President Donald Trump’s recent move of restricting immigration including suspension of H-1B visas will be counterproductive.  In an interview with a media outlet, the head of top American business advocacy group has noted that the proclamation of Trump administration is “unfortunate”. She also said that these waves of immigration over the years have only benefitted the United States. 

"I think that the United States has benefited greatly over the years by successive waves of immigration and most particularly the skilled workers that have been coming in under these H-1B visas and L-1 one visas that have enabled necessary talent to come in and augment American workers in support of technology fields," President of US India Business Council.

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Inputs: PTI