Trump administration bans issuance of work visas

The US is a common destination for thousands of foreign workers who come annually to the country to work in specific sectors of the American market and local companies benefit greatly from the work of qualified foreigners.

Aside from large industries like technology, the US food supply chain also uses the foreign labor resource as its primary workforce.

However, despite the benefit that specialized foreign workers bring to the country, the Trump government decided to ban the issuance of work visas until the end of the year to mitigate the economic impact that the global pandemic brought.

The current administration of the US is of the opinion that if work visas are temporarily suspended:

• There will be more possibility of employment for legal citizens.
• Local resources will be protected and offered only to the American population.
• The economic and health system will not be saturated.

Therefore, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is not allowed to issue work visas until 2021.

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The USCIS Official Figures

The USCIS recently released official figures on the number of work visas issued during 2019.

The official report shows that more than 580,000 foreigners are currently holders of the H-1B Visa (legal work permit) in the country.

The USCIS issues approximately 85,000 work visas annually and it is important to emphasize that these permits are renewable and can be extended, therefore thousands of foreigners have opted for the option to extend their work permits and remain in the US.

Other than that, foreign H-1B visa holders can choose to adjust their status and apply for legal permanent residence if they meet the eligibility requirements.

If you need help to extend your work permit or apply for adjustment of status, then please don’t hesitate to contact our expert immigration attorneys.

The impact of reducing work visas

As we can see, the number of work visas issued annually is very high compared to other permits issued by the USCIS and foreigners who benefit from this permit help the local market to boost the economy.

It is important to know that for a company or local entity to request specialized foreign workers, it must meet certain requirements such as not having availability of local workers.

Therefore, when local companies apply for a work permit to bring in a foreign worker, it is because there is a need and because there are no trained local personnel to fill the job position.

This means that reducing the number of work visas issued annually could harm medium and small companies that benefit from foreign workforce.

The results of this government decision can be analyzed in the course of the rest of the year when the American market begins to feel the impact and the shortages.

Do you need help with an immigration case?

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