New rules were announced this week by the Trump administration in regard to the now-famous H-1B visa program. The new rules are designed to protect highly skilled American workers by making it harder for employers to replace them with foreigners.
In order to discourage businesses from employing H-1B visa holders, the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security increased the requirements. The new rules shorten H-1B visa holders length of stay in the United States, demand higher wages and require foreigners to have a degree in the specific field they are applying for.
Moreover, under the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security new rules, H-1B visa holders can only stay in the United States for 1 year, compared to the 3 years under the old regulations.
Also, H-1B visa holders can no longer work for companies that did not hire them. Under the new set of rules, it is expected that at least a third of H-1B visa applicants will be rejected. The no. 2 official at  Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli and the deputy secretary of labor Patrick Pizzela have said that the new rules are needed to protect American workers who are undercut by foreign workers profiteering from H-1B visas lax regulations.
Basically, foreigners are paid lower wages compared to Americans that can perform similar jobs. Here’s from Mr. Pizella:
“America’s immigration laws should put American workers first. The result is U.S. workers are being ousted from good-paying, middle-class jobs and being replaced by foreign workers”
The Trump administration announced these policy changes since 2017, and in 2019 15.1 percent of H-1B visa applications were rejected compared to 6.1 percent in 2016. Immigrant advocates and various business groups that are directly interested in a constant supply of foreign (cheaper) labor claimed that the Trump administration was trying to solve a non existent problem.
It is very probable that the latest executive order from President Trump will be challenged in court. The US government issues approximately 85,000 H-1B visas each year, but it receives more applications than it can accept.
The H1B visa program is deeply flawed. First, it should grow and shrink with demand. In a recession, it does not make any sense to import hundreds of thousands of foreign workers on a steady number basis.
Second, it does not make any sense to allot visas on lottery basis for the general pool(number of applicants are much more and the DHS just picks at random). This also tilts the balance in favor of the big companies who can petition for many workers against a small company with a few workers.
Third, the highly skilled visas should be given to the areas where there truly is a shortage of skillset. It is ridiculous to see the huge amount of visas issued for tasks that can be done by locals.
Fourth, the audit and background checks need to be more comprehensive. A visa is not a right but a privilege and the US needs to be specific on who it lets in.