US President Donald Trump Likely to Suspend H-1B and Other Visas

The Trump administration is looking forward to suspend temporary work visas (including H-1B for certain-skilled workers and L-1 for internal company transfers in large corporations), particularly popular with Indian companies with US operations as well as Indians seeking to work in America, through the end of this year, reported Economic Times.

This comes as the Trump adminsitration continues to wrestle with high unemployment among Americans owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The executive action is also expected to suspend H-2B visas for seasonal workers such as hotel and construction staff, J-1 visas, which are meant for research scholars and professors, and other cultural and work-exchange programs.

"No matter how you slice it, this is shaping up to be a big win for American workers at a critical time," said RJ Hauman, government relations director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"We have some concern over potential abuse of broadly written exceptions, but there is still time for that to be addressed, both now and during implementation," Hauman said.

In May, Trump issued a temporary halt on new green cards, but stopped short of suspending guest worker programs following concerns from the business community.