White House reaffirms ‘America First’ stance amid H-1B visa overhaul

Washington: The White House has reiterated that President Donald Trump’s priority in reforming the H‑1B visa programme is to put “American workers first” and vowed to fight lawsuits filed against the administration’s crackdown.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The President’s main priority has always been to put American workers first. The administration will fight these lawsuits in court. We know for far too long, the H-1B visa system has been spammed with fraud, and that’s driven down American wages. So, the President wants to refine this system, which is part of the reason he implemented these new policies. These actions are lawful, they are necessary, and will continue to fight this battle in court.”

The statement comes as the US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued new guidance on the $100,000 application fee, providing a series of exemptions and carveouts.

According to the new guidelines, workers who switch to H-1B visa status from other visa categories, such as F-1 student status, won’t be subjected to the $100,000 application fee.

H-1B workers applying for an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay within the US won’t be subjected to the hefty payment.

Moreover, all the current H-1B visa holders won’t be prevented from entering or leaving the US.

The proclamation only applies to new visa petitions who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa. It also provided an online payment link for new applications.

Last week, the US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s biggest business organisation, sued the Trump administration over the new visa rules, calling it “unlawful”.

In a lawsuit filed in the district court in Washington last week, the plaintiff argued that the visa fee, if implemented, will “inflict significant harm on American businesses” and force them to “either dramatically increase their labour costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available”.

It added that Trump’s September 19 proclamation was “plainly unlawful” and a “boon to America’s economic rivals”.

It was the second major domestic legal challenge to new H-1B rules, after a group of unions, education professionals and religious bodies sued the Trump administration on October 3.

While signing the proclamation in September, Trump had said the “incentive is to hire American workers”.

IANS