The state department, in its advisory, said H-1B and L-1 visas can be issued to foreign employees “seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification.”
In a move that may provide a respite to Indian IT professionals and those working in the healthcare sector, the Trump Administration has announced certain exemptions in H-1B and L-1 visa travel ban for those continuing employment with the same employer.
Commonly referred to as the H-1B or L-1 Travel Ban, exemptions to the June 22 Presidential Proclamation 10052 also includes the family members of the H-1B, L-1 and certain categories of J1 visas.
In his June proclamation, President Trump banned the entry into the US of workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories, including the H-1B, arguing that they get the American jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
H-1B, a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise, have mane companies dependent on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The state department, in its advisory, said H-1B and L-1 visas can be issued to foreign employees “seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification.”
It also said that forcing employers to replace existing employees may cause financial hardship.
Earlier, Trump had signed an executive order preventing federal agencies from contracting or subcontracting foreign workers, mainly those on H-1B visa — from hiring.
This decision came a month after the Trump administration on June 23 suspended the 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 restrictions began on 24 June.
“As we speak, we’re finalising the H-1B regulation so that no American workers be replaced ever again. H-1B should be used for top highly paid talent to create American jobs, not as inexpensive labour programmes and destroy American jobs,” the US President had said back then.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
