A recent executive order and several new proposals concerning H-1B visas for workers in specialized jobs show the Trump administration’s anti-immigration push is alive and well, with little recourse for employers hoping to hire from abroad, immigration attorneys say.
H-1B visas have long been a tool for employers to sponsor temporary U.S. residence for employees filling high-skill, high-education roles, particularly in fields like information technology and healthcare. But President Donald Trump and others in his administration have argued that companies use them to bring in workers with fewer protections and lower pay at Americans’ expense.
Ted Chiappari, the head of Duane Morris’s Immigration Group based in New York, called the moves part of “an assault on legal immigration,” which the administration is trying to make “as hard as possible.”
The new proposed fee alone, he said, would likely be “a huge deal-killer” for many employers.
The paths forward for employers are limited, attorneys say. Chiappari said the notice and comment period for the new proposed rules at least offers them a chance to weigh in.
“The more comments they get, the more they have to make an effort to review and consider those comments before publishing the final rule,” he said. “That would be a relatively easy and constructive step.”
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