Free Republic

When Pratham Jain graduated in May with a Master’s in Business and Science from a reputable US university, job-hunting wasn’t the main hurdle.“In the beginning, my focus was on classes, internships and making the most of the campus life. But as graduation got closer,” he says, “the visa conversation started to overshadow everything.” -snip- “Every international student I know keeps one eye on their grades and the other on Washington, because even a small policy change can completely reshape your career path,” Jain says. “It’s almost like earning a second degree here, one in navigating immigration paperwork, deadlines, and constantly...

Companies could face probes into their compliance with the H-1B visa program as part of the Trump Administration’s effort to clamp down on the program and force companies to hire more Americans. The Department of Labor announced on Friday that it was launching Project Firewall, an “enforcement initiative” that will investigate employers for potential abuse of the H-1B visa process. The initiative may be the first time the federal government has sought to broadly enforce H-1B legal standards intended to protect both the H-1B employee and American workers, such as paying wages on par with other workers of similar qualifications...

Two of the US Senate’s most senior lawmakers are once again teaming up to overhaul America’s high-skilled H-1B and L-1 visa systems, saying companies have turned what was meant to be a tool for innovation into a loophole for outsourcing. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin reintroduced the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act. This latest push comes just weeks after US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping presidential proclamation on H-1B visa applications. Under the new order, companies are now required to pay a one-time fee of $100,000 (around Rs 88 lakh) on every...