Jobs, wages, well-being of Indians working in US likely to face rough patch

The US President Donald Trump's executive order of barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries is seen as a precursor to some harsher changes in H1B visa laws affecting life of thousands of legally immigrant students and skilled workers from India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the Indian community people in Washington D.C., USA in June 2016

New Delhi:The US President Donald Trump's executive order of barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries is seen as a precursor to some harsher changes in H1B visa laws.

Even more, those who immigrated legally under H1B visa are also likely to see a shake up in their hitherto settled life.

Vox.com, a news site in the US reported leaks of an executive order draft that is under consideration by the White House. The draft that deals with “Limiting legal immigration: Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs”, will roll out number of channels to reduce the scope of legal immigration to the United States.

The report said, the draft “prioritizes the interests of American workers and — to the maximum degree possible — the jobs, wages, and well-being of those workers.”

The order contains a variety of provisions. One, reversal of extension of the duration of Optional Practical Training work visas and withdrawing work permits to the spouses of H-1B guest workers,undo relief granted to people eligible for green cards but unable to apply for them due to what’s known as the “three- and ten-year bars.”

The report added that another provision calls on the Department of Homeland Security to begin “site visits” at places that employ guest workers with L-1 visas and then to expand the site-visit program to cover all employment-based visa programs within two years.

If the draft is passed as the executive order, thousands of skilled employees and students from India to the US may begin to face troubled times.