Buy American, hire American: Trump for stricter visa regime
CHECKING FRAUD New order to direct review of US procurement rules to ensure they gave preference to Americanmade products
US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order later on Tuesday ordering a full review of the temporary visa programme for high-skilled foreign workers and seek recommendations on how to prevent it from being used to displace Americans.
The order, which the President is expected to sign during a visit to a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin state, will direct departments of justice, labour, state and homeland security to suggest reforms and ways to prevent “fraud and abuse”.
Called the “buy American, hire American” order, it will also direct a review of the government’s procurement rules to ensure they gave preference to American-made products, said two senior administration officials previewing the order.
The order on the visa scheme — H-1Bs — will call for “strict enforcement of all laws governing entry into the United States of labour from abroad for the stated purpose of creating higher wages and higher employment rates for workers,” said one of the officials.
The US grants 85,000 temporary visas every year to highskilled foreigners — 65,000 hired from abroad and the rest from among foreigners enrolled in advanced studies in US colleges.
The programme has come under criticism from those who argue it was being used by companies, specially outsourcing firms, to bring foreigners on low-wages, and not necessarily high-skilled, who eventually end up displacing locals.
Indians are by far the largest recipients of these visas — 70% in 2015 — and Indian outsourcing firms, who bring them to the United States, have found themselves under withering scrutiny and criticism, from both Republicans and Democrats.
As candidate for the White House, Trump, who has admitted to using H-1Bs for his own businesses, had said the system was broken and that he favoured suspending it temporarily, for a year or so, for a full review and find ways to fix it.
Many in his inner circle of advisers have been outspoken critics of the programme and have suggested reducing annual cap from 85,000 — attorney general Jeff Sessions had even moved a bill to his effect as senator.
There were suggestions also to introduce changes that would make it harder for companies to bring in low-wage foreigners — 80% of those granted the visa, said the official previewing the order, was paid less than the median for their field.