His administration will not tolerate the firing of hardworking Americans in the pursuit of cheap foreign labor, Trump further told reporters.
Washington| In a decision that’s being considered as a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, President Donald Trump on Monday 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.
Most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, the H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
With the help of this visa, technology companies hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Trump talked to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House before signing the order against hiring H1B visa holders for federal contracts. He said, “Today I am signing an executive order to ensure that the federal government lives by a very simple rule, higher American.”
His administration will not tolerate the firing of hardworking Americans in the pursuit of cheap foreign labor, Trump further told reporters.
“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 said while being surrounded across the Cabinet Room table with individuals campaigning against job outsourcing.
Earlier, on 23 June, White House officials had said that US President Donald Trump has asked his administration to “reform” the H-1B visa system and move in the direction of merit-based immigration.
“Moving to a merit-based immigration system,” the White House had said in a statement after the President proclaimed the temporary suspension of H1B and other work visas till December. The statement had said that the Trump Administration will reform the immigration system to prioritize the highest-skilled workers and protect American jobs.
The White House had said that under these reforms the H1B program will prioritize those workers who are offered the highest wage, ensuring that the highest-skilled applicants are admitted.
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