The Next Shoe to Drop
When President Trump issued his Executive Order last month suspending the issuance of green cards for 60 days, he included a statement promising that all legal visa programs would be reviewed. It is common knowledge that the Trump Administration does not support legal immigration and has been trying to restrict business visas since he took office and the H-1b visa has been a top target. U.S. employers who use the H-1b visa to supplement its workforce have been anxiously waiting the next EO. A letter from 4 Republican Senators has been released by Politico and it provides a wish list including the elimination of the OPT and STEM OPT programs, the elimination of an investor visa and the elimination of new H-1b visas bringing into doubt this year's cap cases among others. The idea that the unemployment rate of restaurant workers is relevant to the employment of STEM workers is nonsense and I would guess that each of these 4 Senators, are well aware of the idiocy of their claims however, all politicians know how to take advantage of a crisis to push an agenda that they could not have otherwise pursued. Earlier this week, Forbes ran an article discussing possible restrictions that could be coming. As of now, an EO has not been released so the content of and the consequences are mere speculation but, we have a glimpse at the wish list and it is ugly.