'H-1B visa suspension will harm US businesses'

June 24, 2020 10:55

The temporary suspension of H-1B and other non-immigrant visas by President Donald Trump will "disproportionately" impact high-skilled workers from Asia as well as harm the American businesses that rely on immigrant workers, US lawmakers have said.

In a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, Trump signed a proclamation on Monday suspending the most sought-after H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year. The new restrictions take effect from Wednesday.

"This (the suspension of visas) will disproportionately impact high-skilled workers from Asia, who overwhelming utilise the H1-B visa system and account for over 80 per cent of H1-B visa holders in the United States," Congresswoman Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said on Tuesday. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

"It's a purely xenophobic and bigoted agenda that actually works against our national interest," Chu said. She underlined that immigrants are vital to the US economy and are needed not only in the agriculture and medicine sectors, but also in business, academia, and "everything in between as well".

"If we want to rebuild our economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot close ourselves off from immigrants. The President's order puts his own election-year politics over the needs of our country," Chu said.

"Worse, by stoking xenophobia and furthering the false impression that immigrants take away American jobs, the President's order is putting immigrants at risk at a time when hate crimes are spiking. This order divides our country at a moment when we need to be rebuilding. I'm strongly opposed to the Trump administration's continued attacks on our legal immigration system," she said.

According to Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the visa suspension order is both an "abuse" of the president's executive power and a "politically motivated" attempt to shift blame. -- PTI

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