September 12
As we reported in our release “Trump’s Immigration Plan for 2020” on May 20, President Trump requested a report from three agencies about the impact of immigration to the United States.
We now understand that document has now been delivered to the White House, and we predict that it will recommend yet further restrictions on the H-1B visa and other non-immigrant work visas, and could come into force quickly.
Watch the video below for details and subscribe to OnlineVisas’ YouTube channel to keep informed on the latest immigration news.
We believe that there will be three elements to the final rule that will be announced shortly.
First, we expect it to be an interim final rule, which will allow the changes to be pushed through with less scrutiny or comment from the groups that will be affected. However, an interim rule can more easily be challenged in the courts at a later date.
The second major impact we are predicting is that this new proclamation will restrict the definition of “specialty occupation” for the H-1B visa. An earlier rule announced by the White House stated that this was the Administration’s intention.
Note the “National Interest Exemption” that was announced to provide loopholes allowing people in certain professions that could be particularly helpful to the country during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Please see the video for all the details, including other stipulations that could affect H-1B applicants who may qualify for an exemption.
It is not yet clear whether the authorities will include new rules around the prevailing wage for H-1Bs under the new regulations.
In the video Jon also explores the language in the recent ITServe Alliance case, which USCIS lost in the courts, and which focused critically on their methods of adjudicating visa petitions.
The final key change we are expecting is that the new proclamation will substantially impact visa petitions for H-1B visa holders who will work at third-party client locations. This could cause problems for hospitals and other important employers.
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