Business immigration and the H-1B visa program

The US business immigration offers multiple alternatives for local businesses to hire foreign workers. There are programs for inexperienced workers, agricultural workers, internal transfers, highly qualified workers, inter alia.

For instance, speaking specifically about the H-1B visa program, local employers can apply for this permit and bring highly skilled foreign workers for specific market sectors such as technology, science, research, and engineering.

According to the opinion of dozens of companies that use this service, the H-1B visa allows them to bring talent and innovation from abroad when there are no trained local personnel to fill a job position. This program opens a path for socio-economic development as foreign workforce constantly drives the economy and boost the creation of new jobs for the American population.

However, despite the opinion of local companies and results of multiple studies recently conducted, the Trump administration has tried to reduce, limit and restrict business immigration through policies and rules that make it difficult for companies to hire foreign workforce.

Adding to that, the arrival of the global pandemic also contributed to the Trump administration being able to restrict the entry of foreign workers in the US.

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The Trump administration’s arguments

The current administration of the US states that companies often take advantage of the current immigration system to hire foreign workforce less expensive than local workforce, leaving American workers behind and increasing the unemployment rate.

Thus, the Trump administration argues that local companies should prioritize and hire American workers before hiring foreign workers, even more so now that the country is going through a health and economic crisis unprecedented in recent history.

Immigration officers visit homes of H-1B visa holders

To keep the integrity of the H-1B program, officers from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) used to visit companies to verify that they were following the requirements of the visa program.

However, the health crisis forced companies to adopt new methods to maintain economic balance and protect their resources. Therefore, many companies chose to send their employees home and continue their work remotely.

An immigration lawyer recently reported that USCIS officers implemented a new practice and are visiting the homes of foreign workers (H-1B visa holders) to ensure they are complying with the program’s rules.

The lawyer states this is another attempt by the Trump administration to instill fear, anxiety and anguish among immigrant communities and foreign workers currently residing in the US. In fact, she states: “There’s something different about an officer from the federal government coming to your workplace than coming to your home. It should be your sanctuary. And now it’s not even safe for them.”

The USCIS has not commented on the allegations, nor has it stated the reasons why it is conducting visits to the homes of foreign workers.

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