The Trump administration has taken a step to bring structural changes in the distribution of H-1B visa. This indicates that they will not rely on the long-standing lottery system that has been used to pick foreign skilled workers.
The proposals will focus on prioritising better remunerated and more specialised jobs as per the policy documents and statements made by the officials of the US. The reforms are part of a bigger initiative to make immigration policies based on employment tougher.
Based on the existing system, the H-1B visa is limited by the number of 85,000 a year, with 20,000 allocated to students holding higher US degrees. In case of excess applications, visas are given in the form of a lottery. The administration has contended that this exercise is not sufficient in terms of labour market requirement and wage rates.
The reforms that are proposed would distribute visas according to the salary provided, levels of education and competence and not by chance. According to the officials, this would favour high paying jobs and deter the companies to utilize the programme to seek cheap labour. The Department of Homeland Security has shown that this change can be possible under regulatory action and not necessarily a new law.
Technology companies, healthcare facilities and engineering organizations extensively employ the H-1B programme to recruit foreign workers especially those of India and China. Business groups have cautioned that any change in the allocation system may interfere with the recruitment process and create more uncertainty to the employer. They claim that the wage-based selection can be discriminatory towards start-ups and smaller companies that are not able to compete with the amount of wages that large organizations provide.
The reforms have been presented by the administration as an element of its Buy American, Hire American agenda, initially introduced in 2017. According to the officials, the idea is to safeguard the US workers and make sure that visas are issued only in case there is visible skills gap. The changes have however been criticized by critics who claim that it might diminish the general talent pool, and slow down innovation.
According to legal specialists, the efforts to remodel H-1B in the past have not gone unchallenged by the courts. There were a number of Trump era immigration policies that were delayed or blocked due to industry group and state government lawsuits. Any new delegation system would probably undergo the same scrutiny especially when it is perceived to be overstepping the executive power.
The suggested modifications are in the context of the broader discussion of skilled migration in the United States. Although both the major political parties recognize the relevance of high-skilled workers to the economy, there is a disagreement with regards to the manner in which the system should be run.
The H-1B programme is still in doubt and it is expected that the policy direction will be determined by the success or failure of the regulating bodies and the political landscape in Washington.