Trump restricted the issuance of new foreign work visa till December 31, 2020. The non-immigrant visas like H-1B Visa, L-1, and H-4 Visa, etc. are to be affected. The restriction is applicable to new visas, whereas those already in the US will stay unaffected. Hours after Trump’s decision, many stalwarts from the IT industry have shown their disappointment with the visa restrictions.
Google’s Indian origin CEO, Sundar Pichai took to Twitter, and addressed his concerns over the new visa restrictions,
Microsoft President Brad Smith said that America needs immigrants to contribute to their country.
Smith’s post was retweeted by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as well. The Twitter Public Policy handle tweeted a statement on US high-skilled immigration proclamation. It said that the move undermines America’s greatest economic asset, which is its diversity.
It further mentioned that people from all over the world come to the US to join the labour force, pay taxes in the country, and contribute in making America a global leader in the world.
The White House said that The official said that Trump wants the wage structure for H-1B visas to be changed from the current one set during the administration of former President Bill Clinton, and the new minimum will be the 50th percentile of the national income. That is the median income or the middle of the range and is currently $63,000, according to the Census Bureau
Indians are the single largest group of H1-B visa-holders accounting for nearly 74 per cent of the work visas. There are numerous success stories which inspire many Indian youth to pursue jobs in the US and make a living overseas. It is often argued that educated Indians after graduating from top tier Indian colleges like IITs and IIMs are seen contributing to the US economy massively.
Tycoons like Indra Nooyi started off with the H-1 visas in 1980 and today she is the CEO of Pepsi.
Satya Nadella ‘the guy who gave up his Green card’ (the title of his memoir) switched to H-1B Visa in 1994 in order to fly out his spouse to the US. The H-4 visa is for spouses of H-1B visa holders.
Sundar Pichai entered the USA with an F-1 student visa. He later took an H-1B visa to move towards McKinsey, paving way for Google, which he heads since 2015.