LANSING – President Trump is considering an Executive Order to modify the current H-1B system. During his candidacy he expressed the view that the H-1B system was subject to abuse and needed revamping.
“These are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay,” Candidate Trump said in a statement last March. “I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse.”
The idea of H-1B fraud and abuse has been an issue throughout the 2000s. A report released in 2008 by Senator Charles Grassley detailed a number of issues from technical violations to willful fraud.
Generally, applicants for H-1B visas must have a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and must be in a “specialty occupation” requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge including but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts. Generally, all H-1B petitions must be filed during the first five business days of April. Beneficiaries of successful FY 2018 H-1B petitions will be eligible to begin work in the U.S. on October 1, 2017. Each year, there are 65,000 regular H-1B visas available, plus an additional 20,000 for those who have earned a Master’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution. If there are greater than 65,000 regular H-1B petitions filed, a lottery system is used to pick the “winning” H-1B visa petitions.
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