H-1B visa holders restricted from federal jobs
- President Donald Trump has signed an executive order preventing federal agencies from contracting or subcontracting foreign workers mainly those on H-1B visas.
- The move comes over a month after the Trump administration on June 23 suspended the H1B visas, along with other types of foreign work visas, until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year. The new restrictions took effect from June 24.
- Mr. Trump’s order follows an announcement by the Federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that it would outsource 20% of its technology jobs to companies based in foreign countries
- TVA’s action could cause more than 200 highlyskilled American tech workers in Tennessee to lose their jobs to lowwage, foreign workers hired on temporary work visas.
- Outsourcing hundreds of workers is especially detrimental in the middle of a pandemic, which has already cost millions of Americans their jobs, the White House said in a statement.
H-1B Visa
- It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate-level foreign workers in specialty occupations. Specialty occupations require:
- Theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc.
- Any professional level job that usually requires a bachelor’s degree or higher can come under the H-1B visa for specialty occupations.
- The US H1-B visa is designed to be used for staff in specialty occupations. H-1B has an option for green card applications.
- H-1B visa holders can bring their spouse and children under 21 years of age to the US under the H4 Visa category as dependents.
- An H4 Visa holder is allowed to remain in the US as long as the H-1B visa holder remains in legal status.
- While an H4 visa holder is not eligible to work in the US, they may attend school, obtain a driver's license, and open a bank account while in the US.
Source: The Hindu
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