US opens H-1B visa applications, puts scrutiny on outsourcing companies

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore.

• The Trump administration has today begun accepting a fresh round of H-1B visa applications, but without the promised significant changes. The program allows US companies to employ highly-skilled foreign workers.
• The initiative had only a tweak: it would funnel more inspectors towards outsourcing companies, many of them India-headquartered firms like Wipro, TCS, and Infosys.
• These firms have been criticized for hiring immigrants who are paid less than Americans, thereby depriving US citizens of jobs. So far, the majority of H-1B programs have been awarded to these outsourcing firms via a lottery system.
• Greater scrutiny or restrictions on outsourcing firms may cause them to rely more on American workers, and this could hurt profit margins.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Live Mint

Update on April 5: Article previously stated the H-1B visa applications were “reopened.” We’ve tweaked it as it gave the wrong impression that the program had shut down, which was not the case.

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