US President Donald Trump’s plan to restrict employment-based visas could affect around 240,000 people who want to work in the US from technology to finance and hospitality across industries.
Trump said he would announce the new restrictions on several work visas on Sunday or Monday in a Fox News interview. The plan will not affect some workers already in the United States, he added.
Trump said there would be very few exceptions to the rules for certain visa categories, including H-1B for highly qualified employees, L-1 systems for managers in their businesses, H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers.
In one instance, it would restrict people to enter the USA for 180 days in the categories of visas, including the H-1B program. Workers who have received such visas may not be able to enter until the order expires.
Hundreds of businesses and thousands of people will be affected by this move. In fiscal 2019, nearly 133,000 employees were issued H-1B visas, beginning their initial jobs with a business. Initial applications granted L-1 visas to more than 12,000 people, and H-2B visas issued to more than 98,000 people. Unless excluded, the plan of Trump may affect more than 240,000 applicants on the basis of these three categories of working visas.
Over recent years, the government has worked to tighten the H-1B system, and the visa acceptance rate has decreased. H-1B visas were used by the technology industry to recruit foreign talents, particularly in science and engineering.
Critics say several companies have exploited the American workers using the program.
