Bill Being Introduced To Tighten Rules For H-1B Visa To Secure 'American Jobs'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 06th Jan, 2017 ) A well-known Republican congressman is introducing a bill in the US Congress, seeking tightening of rules for high-skilled worker visas, a move that will largely hurt workers from India.

Mr. Trump, who is getting ready to assume the presidency on January 20, has promised to bring jobs back to American he says have been lost due to outsourcing and influx of workers hired from abroad.

The proposed legislation by Rep. Darrell Issa seeks to make rules more stringent for getting H-1B visas. In a statement posted on his website, Congressman Issa said he was re-introducing the bill in a bid to 'stop the outsourcing of American jobs' and ensure laws are not 'abused to allow companies to outsource and hire cheap foreign labor from abroad.' The intended legislation proposes to increase required salaries for positions granted under the H-1B scheme that replace American workers from $60,000 to $100,000 per year, a media report said quoting the Congressman.

According to the lawmaker, raising the limit for required salaries would help remove the profit incentives, thereby encouraging companies to make local hiring. The bill was first introduced in July and is co-sponsored by Democratic Rep.

Scott Peters. Both lawmakers belong to the state of Calirfornia. If approved by the Congress, the bill would impact mostly Indian citizens who enter the United States in thousands every year on H-1B visas.

Analysts say the proposed bill will not just hurt Indian citizens but also India's outsourcing firms which hire millions and account for roughly 20 percent of the country's exports of goods and services.

Adverse legislation with respect to U.S. H-1B visas under Mr. Trump's administration is a key risk to the sector, Sagar Rastogi, an analyst at Indian brokerage Ambit Capital, said Thursday in a research note, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. APP/zh