Washington DC, September 29
The US Department of Labour on Sunday (local time) said that companies must end H1-B 'abuse'.
The Labour Department also called on US companies to hire American workers.
"End H-1B abuse. Hire American," the Department of Labour said in a post on X.
https://x.com/USDOL/status/1972378359276699795
"We're fighting for the American Dream," it said.
https://x.com/USDOL/status/1972437278275596731
The announcment follows US President Donald Trump's surprise order imposing a USD 100,000 fee for the H-1B visa, impacting the largest group of beneficiaries of the skilled-worker program.
The H-1B visa is a work visa that's valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick lauded the Trump administration's recent overhaul in its visa programmes, announcing that these new visa programmes will ensure foreign workers provide "significant benefit" to the US by ending practices where they "take jobs from hard-working Americans" and exploit the economy without any meaningful contribution.
In a post on X, moments after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for a 'Gold Card' visa programme with fees set at USD 1 million for individuals and USD 2 million for businesses, as well as issuing a proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, Lutnick outlined the shift from what he called the "open-border Democrats' disastrous agenda" of the past four years, which he accused of flooding the country with illegal immigrants at the expense of US citizens.
"For the past four years, open-border Democrats endlessly flooded the country with illegal aliens at the expense of hard-working Americans. The Trump administration is completely reversing course on that disastrous agenda. These programs guarantee that recipients who come to work in America must provide significant benefit to our great country. We are ending workers taking jobs away from hard-working Americans and taking advantage of our economy and providing nothing in return. The Trump Card begins to restore our immigration system to its intended purpose: significantly benefitting America," Lutnick wrote in his post.
— ANI
Reader Comments
$100,000 fee? That's insane! This will definitely impact Indian techies the most. Maybe it's time for our companies to focus more on domestic opportunities and reduce dependency on US visas.
While I understand America first policy, the language used here is quite harsh. Indian professionals have built Silicon Valley and contributed billions to US economy. Calling it "abuse" hurts.
As someone who works with H1-B colleagues, I must say this policy seems short-sighted. The best talent often comes from abroad, and restricting it might hurt US innovation in the long run.
Maybe this is a wake-up call for India to create better opportunities at home. So many brilliant minds leave for US - we should focus on retaining our talent and building our own tech ecosystem. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
Respectfully, I think there's some truth to this. While many H1-B workers are highly skilled, the program has been misused by some companies to replace American workers with cheaper alternatives. Balance is needed.
My cousin just got his H1-B rejected after waiting for years. Feeling so disappointed 😔 These policy changes create so much uncertainty for Indian families who
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.