Washington: Days after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to significantly curtail the H-1B visa programme, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to “amend its regulations” governing the process.
The DHS proposal seeks to scrap the existing lottery system and implement “a weighted selection process that would generally favour the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels”. The initiative will be opened for a 30-day public comment period.
The H-1B programme, capped at 85,000 new visas annually, allowed US companies to hire skilled foreign workers in fields like technology and engineering through a random lottery system.
Last week, Trump signed a proclamation to crack down on H-1B visas, announcing a $100,000 fee for each new application. The proclamation caused immense confusion over the weekend as it seemed to suggest that it would impact the current H-1B visa holders who may face hurdles in returning to the United States.
The White House issued a clarification to IANS on Saturday, saying that this is a “one-time fee” that applies only to new visas and not renewals or current visa holders. (IANS)
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