Indian IT professionals are eyeing the US job market got a huge blow. President Donald Trump on Monday has signed an executive order that will prevent federal agencies from giving contracts or subcontracts to foreign workers, mainly to those on an H-1B visa.
The H1B visa is the most required among the Indian IT professionals; it is a non-immigrant visa which gives liberty to the US companies to employ foreign workers in occupations which require theoretical or technical skill.
IT companies rely on it for hiring employees each year from Asian countries like India and China.
Trump said that his government would not accept the firing of hardworking Americans in the hunt for cheap foreign labour.
The order requires all central agencies to complete an internal audit and assess whether they are falling in line with the requirement. As a result, the Department of Labour is all set to checking guidelines to stop H-1B employers from shifting H-1B workers to other employers’ job sites to relocate American workers.
According to the officials in White House, the President’s actions will help fight employers’ misuse of H-1B visas. These were never meant to replace qualified local workers with low-priced foreign labour.
Trump said he would favour a merit-based system that brings in skilled people that would create jobs in the US and not take responsibilities of the locals.
