A Break Down Of The H-1b Changes — And Why More Changes Could Come

A fewer weeks ago, President Trump announced nan exertion interest for an H-1B visa would summation to $10,000. The value tag sent daze waves through, particularly nan tech ecosystem, which heavily utilizes nan visa to bring talent successful from different countries. 

On this week’s Equity, we sat down with Jeremy Neufeld, nan head of migration argumentation astatine nan Institute for Progress, to talk astir nan visa changes, what it means, and why it’s happening. 

He said nan volition of nan visa alteration makes sense, but nan implementation of it has “left a batch to beryllium desired.”  

“Some of nan proposals that they’ve ended up settling connected person either loopholes aliases they’re prioritizing nan incorrect thing,” he said. As a result, he said, nan visa changes will astir apt person nan reverse effect than what nan Trump management intended. “It’s going to beryllium a large taxation connected america bringing successful apical researchers from astir nan world.” 

But for each nan sticker shock, location are a batch of group successful support of nan visa changes. Neufeld said it makes consciousness to make judge that nan 85,000 unfastened H-1B visa slots are really going to valuable workers and that it makes consciousness to complaint a interest to guarantee that only nan champion are applying — and receiving nan visa. 

He besides said astir nan allegations that companies were abusing nan visa. But again, he said, location are loopholes successful nan changes that are difficult to ignore. 

Elsewhere successful nan conversation, we said astir nan different changes made to nan visa, specified arsenic nan required costs levels. We pondered nan Trump Administration’s reasons for changing nan visa and what nan likelihood of much changes to nan visa occurring earlier its lottery successful nan spring. Neufeld besides said astir what effect this will person connected nan world tech segment and hiring.

“I deliberation galore group are going to beryllium deterred from coming to nan United States,” he said. 

Overall, location are galore uncertainties regarding astir each facet of this visa change. Right now, he said, nan changes are successful a “notice and remark period,” wherever it is accepting feedback from members of nan public. Given nan reactions to nan change, moreover much could beryllium coming.