Trump making it harder for skilled foreigners to work in US: report

The Trump administration is reportedly challenging a record number of H-1B visa applications for high-skilled workers, a sign that the White House is cracking down on legal immigration.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the U.S. has issued more than 85,000 visa challenges to H-1B visa applicants this year, which is a 45 percent increase from the same period last year. The total number of H-1B requests in 2017 has risen by just 3 percent from 2016.

H-1B visas allow high-skilled foreign workers to temporarily fill highly specialized jobs in the U.S. that would otherwise go unfilled, usually in the technology, education or health care fields. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Google were some of the top users of this three-year visa program last year, according to the report.

One immigration attorney representing a Massachusetts health care system told Reuters that the Trump administration is doing everything it can to close loopholes in the H-1B program.

{mosads}“They’re doing anything they can to delay the processing and adjudications and in their mind close any perceived loopholes,” Anthony Pawelski said.

The move follows an announcement by the Trump administration in April that it was investigating “fraud and abuse” of the H-1B visa program by American companies.

“The H-1B visa program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country. Yet, too many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged,” the Department of Homeland Security said in April.

“Protecting American workers by combating fraud in our employment-based immigration programs is a priority.”