E-Paper
Getting H-1B to become tougher? Trump govt plans to publish new rule; details here
The Donald Trump administration is planning to publish a new H-1B rule, the Department of Homeland Security regulatory agenda showed.
Qualifying for H-1B visas might get tougher as the Donald Trump administration plans to publish a new rule. It is expected to propose additional immigration restrictions on how employers use the H-1B visa and who qualifies for it.
A little before the White House announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa holders, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had put out its regulatory agenda, in which there was a rule to change the H-1B category.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will propose to reform the H-1B program by revising eligibility for cap exemptions, providing greater scrutiny for employers that have violated program requirements, and increasing oversight over third party placements, among other provisions. These changes are intended to improve the integrity of the H-1B nonimmigrant program and better protect U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions,” the abstract for the upcoming Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program rule reads.
It listed December 2025 as a possible date for the rule to be published.
What the new H-1B rule could include
The new H-1B rule could include aspects that would make it tougher for high-skilled foreign nationals to qualify for H-1B status, and would prevent H-1B holders from working at customer sites, Forbes reported. These were part of the 2020 regulation that the Trump administration tried to bring, unsuccessfully.
Also Read | Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee draws rare rebuke from US business
During Trump's first term, there was a failure to publish a final rule change to the H-1B category. It was published late in the president's term, and on October 8, 2020, a judge had blocked it on grounds of it violating the Administrative Procedure Act. With an early start this time, Trump government officials are hoping to avoid the same fate.
Trump, during much of his first term, had officials who sought to make it infeasible for an employer to send a H-1B holder to work at a customer's location. A 2018 Contracts and Itineraries memo placed new H-1B restrictions. In the event of companies wanting to send H-1B staff to work on customer sites, USCIS would often limit the approval period, sometimes even to a single day, Forbes further reported.
H-1B temporary visas typically are the only practical way for high-skilled foreign nationals to work in the US for a long period of time and eventually gain permanent residence via a green card.
The H-1B annual limit is 65,000, and there is a 20,000 exemption for individuals with a master’s degree or higher from a US university. As per research, H-1B visa holders are paid the same or higher salaries than local workers with comparable levels of education and experience, Forbes reported.
During Trump’s first term, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) put policies in place that resulted in historically high H-1B denial rates. Then came the lawsuits, and the agency reversed the practices following a legal settlement.
