With an eye on the forthcoming Presidential polls, the US President Donald Trump has hardened😠 his stance against immigration.
He has signed an executive order that extends the suspension🚫 of work visas for foreign workers till the end of this year.
These restrictions came into effect from April🗓️.
The visa categories that have been put on hold include, H-1B visas for tech workers, H-2B visas for low-skill jobs, H-4 visas for spouses👫🏻 of certain visa holders among others.
Move defies logic
As per Trump, his decision to bar foreign immigrants will benefit☝️ American workers as job losses in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic are at record high levels.
Estimates put this figure at around 5 crores.
However, there seems to be little justification🤦🏻♂️ in Trump’s argument as this visa freeze will only free up about 5.25 lakh jobs.
Big blow for Indians
The freeze on H1-B visas is a major setback for Indians, as it is the most sought-after🤑 visa programme among them to gain entry in the U.S as skilled immigrants.
According to immigration data📃, India accounts for about 70% of the 85,000 H-1B visas that are issued annually.
The move will also hurt Indian IT companies who widely use this system to transfer✈️ highly-skilled workers to the U.S.
In line with that, major U.S tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Twitter etc. have spoken out🗣️ against this move arguing that it would only undermine America’s economic recovery and competitiveness.
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