The Department of Homeland Security moved to make a significant change to the controversial guest worker program that would prioritize higher-paid applicants.
The proposed rule change is one that will help American workers, Trump administration officials said.
For years, the H-1B visa, for high-skilled workers, has been criticized for being marred by abuse and that it is used by tech companies to bring in cheaper labor to replace American workers and to keep wages low. Those in favor of the program say it is used to attract talent to fill gaps that the domestic labor market cannot meet.
The proposed rule, formally announced Wednesday evening, would prioritize the selection of higher wage applicants for the approximately 85,000 annual H-1B visas to be allocated each year.
“This is the latest example of President Trump and this administration continuing to take visionary steps to reform the immigration system in ways that protect American workers while also benefiting the economy,” a senior DHS official told Fox News.
Currently, the large number of registrations DHS receives each year are filtered by a randomized lottery, before going on to have their individual applicants scrutinized.
The new rule would mean that registrations would be separated by four wage levels that are already in place (the fourth level is the highest and the first is the lowest) and registrations at the highest wage level would then get to apply first. Once those in the highest level have applied then the process would turn to level III, and so on until the spaces are filled.
“Put simply, because demand for H-1B visas has exceeded the annual supply for more than a decade, DHS prefers that cap-subject H-1B visas go to beneficiaries earning the highest wages relative to their [Standard Occupational Classification] codes and area(s) of intended employment,” the rule says.
According to the DHS, 60 percent of all H-1B jobs were certified in FY2019 at the two lowest wage levels -- both below the local median wage. Under the new system, the DHS predicts that none of the lowest level registrations would be selected and only 75 percent of level II would be chosen. All of those at the top two tiers would get to apply first.
“What this means is the higher wage level you are, the higher the likelihood of being afforded the opportunity to get the H-1B petition approved... (Read more)
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