International graduates and relevant companies in the U.S. are anxiously waiting for the government’s next move on H-1B work visas, local media reported on Wednesday.
This was after U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier on social media that “positive changes are coming soon.”
“Since 2017, it’s been more difficult for international students to obtain H-1B visas,’’ Gong Shiyang, an immigration lawyer and CEO of a Silicon Valley-based tech company AILaw Inc, said on Tuesday.
The controversial H-1B visa programme allows U.S. companies to hire foreign graduates on visas that can last for as long as six years.
Meanwhile, President Trump has already issued a “Buy American and Hire American’’ executive order and instructed a review of the system in 2017.
The tech industry, especially companies in Silicon Valley, relied heavily on the H-1B programme although critics accused some companies of abusing the programme by replacing U.S. workers with cheap foreign labour.
A recent survey of companies in Silicon Valley suggested that about 40 per cent of respondents said the visa restrictions had a negative impact on them.
Although no concrete policy changes have been made to the programme in the last two years, applications have experienced tightened restrictions, such as more denials, a delayed process, and a suspension of expedited processing.
According to the National Foundation for American Policy, the denials of H-1B visa applications spiked 41 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of 2017.
“Some students who have not got approved H-1B visas are even considering giving up the opportunities and returning home.
“Some of them have waited several months while not able to work in the meantime,’’ Gong said.
Paul Min, a student at Foothills College in California, told Xinhua in a recent interview that job opportunities for international students have diminished remarkably in the last two years.
He said that five or six of his friends had landed a job, however, were not lucky enough to win the H-1B visa lottery.
The lottery system was introduced because demand for the visa often exceeds the supply.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, every year, 65,000 H-1B visas are granted, with another 20,000 reserved for those who hold advanced degrees from U.S. higher education institutions.
“Most of the students want to work in the U.S. after graduation at least to gain some experience, but employers won’t hire you if they know you may not get the work visa,’’ Min said.
According to Min, who saw some hope in the Trump’s recent message tweeted on Jan. 11, it’s a good sign, overall, it may not be that bad as we had expected’’.
