Suspension of foreign work visas to free up to 5.25 lakh jobs in US: White House

temporary suspension of foreign work visas including H-1B and L1, that benefit Indian IT professionals, is expected to free up to 5,25,000 jobs in US, senior ministration officials said after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in this regard.

“ sum total of what se actions will do in terms of freeing up jobs over course of rest of 2020 is about 5,25,000 jobs," a senior ministration official told reporters during a conference call.

"Quite a significant number, where President Trump is focusing on getting Americans back to work as quickly as possible after we’ve suffered this hit to our ecomy based on coronavirus and harm it’s done,” official said.

A proclamation of Trump on Monday temporarily suspended till end of current year a number of popular n-immigrant visas including H-1B, H-4, H-2B visa, J and L visas.

“ H-1B is high-tech visa. H-4 is spouses of certain or visa holders, including H-1B and H-2B. H-2B is a bit of a low-skill catchall. only ones that’ll come in under H-2B will be those in food service industry, which is less than 15 per cent of all H-2Bs."

"n, almost all working J visas will be excluded, and n all L visas. Ls are intra-company transfers from, say, company X, ir facility in Germany to ir facility in Michigan,” official said.

While maintaining integrity of asylum system, president has closed a bunch of those loopholes, which, in dition to cleaning up asylum system, will also free up more jobs for Americans. “That is done by regulation, however, t by executive order,” official said.

Trump in his lengthy proclamation has directed Department of Homeland Security to eliminate work permits of those who have final orders of removal or commit crimes in United States or are deportable. category alone is in excess of 50,000 jobs a year that will be opened up for Americans, official said.

White House later said that proclamation is part of ‘America first recovery’ effort of Trump as he is expanding suspension of certain visas through end of year to ensure American workers take first priority as country recovers from ecomic effects of coronavirus.

ting that Trump is extending pause on new immigrant visas through end of year to ensure that US continues putting American workers first during ongoing coronavirus recovery, White House said president is building on this measure with an ditional pause on several job-related nimmigrant visas—H-1Bs, H-2Bs without a nexus to food-supply chain, certain H-4s, as well as Ls and certain Js—preserving jobs for American citizens.

Asserting that this will ensure businesses look to American workers first when hiring, White House said that many workers have been hurt through fault of ir own due to coronavirus and y should t remain on sidelines while being replaced by new foreign labour.

“ Trump ministration has also finalised regulations to eliminate incentive to file an asylum application for primary purpose of obtaining an employment authorisation document. With some exceptions, we should t permit large numbers of foreign workers to enter United States at a time when so many Americans are out of work,” White House said.

White House asserted that American people stand by Trump as he takes commonsense action to preserve jobs for American citizens. “Polls show that overwhelming majority of Americans support pausing immigration as we recover as a nation from coronavirus pandemic,” it said. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that 65 per cent of those polled support pausing immigration into country, including 61 per cent of mirity respondents. A Pew Research Center poll found that 81 percent of Americans see mass immigration as a threat as we confront challenges posed by coronavirus, it ded.

“Democrats and liberal commentators used to support such commonsense efforts to protect American jobs,” White House said.