U.S. Representative Jim Himes objected to the Trump administration’s policies on H-1B and H4 visas at a virtual event last week, The American Bazaar reports. Himes expressed his hope that the Biden campaign would reverse the administration’s latest policies and initiate immigration reform.
According to The American Bazaar, the event was co-hosted with the Connecticut chapter of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). Himes hails from Connecticut and is a member of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
Attracting skilled workers, Himes said, is ‘central to our economy.’
In July, the Trump administration suspended employment visa programs (including the H-1B program), citing risks to the U.S. labor market during the coronavirus pandemic. According to The New York Times, the administration announced ‘significant changes’ to the H-1B program last week.
The new requirements included higher wages for foreign hires and tighter eligibility requirements for visa applicants, The New York Times reports. Essentially, employers will be discouraged from hiring foreign-born employees.
“By increasing the required wages, the new rules will harm all employers trying to hire foreign workers, but especially start-up companies and smaller firms who may not be able to meet the increased wage requirements,” Cornell Law School professor, Stephen Yale-Loehr, said.
The new policy could also have a significant impact on rural hospitals, William A. Stock, a Philadelphia immigration lawyer said.
“Entry-level doctors in rural areas will have to be offered experienced-level wages, which may be more than their supervisor is being paid,” Stock said. “This will further restrict the supply of doctors willing to move to parts of rural America. It will put providers in a jam that they can’t afford to hire foreign-born doctors.”
According to a previous AsAmNews article, the Biden campaign released plans to reform the H-1B system and alleviate the green card backlog in mid-August.
The announcement was the ‘“first time that a Democratic presidential candidate has come out with an exclusive policy document for Indian Americans.’
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