The H1B visa is the most popular type of visa that is availed by most immigrant workers to the USA. On Tuesday, the US government announced an extension on the 60-day ban that was previously imposed on this visa. While talking about this the government said that this was an attempt to protect the hundreds of domestic workers and American citizens who had been roughly affected by the pandemic.
President Trump, after assuming office in 2017, had hinted that the low-cost workers were hampering the economy and undercutting the jobs of US citizens. The US had then hinted at reforming the “broken” H-1B visa system.
Trump seized the opportunity provided by the economic contraction due to Covid-19 by first banning the entry of non-immigrant workers till June 23, and then extending it till December 31.
This new ban will not affect those who are present in the USA and are currently expecting a change of visa status, like international students. However, the US government has advised them against moving from the US under the circumstances of the global crisis as they would then have to be subjected to this new rule.
The American Lawyers Association has come out in opposition to this move, saying that under the circumstances of an unprecedented global issue it was necessary to use all the available resources irrespective of whether they were from within the country or around the world. Other big names who have come out in condemnation of this move have been key players in Silicon Valley like Google CEO Sundar Pichai, SpaceX and Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey.
Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today. Disappointed by today’s proclamation – we’ll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 22, 2020
Very much disagree with this action. In my experience, these skillsets are net job creators. Visa reform makes sense, but this is too broad.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 23, 2020