The White House-approved proposal is the latest disruption to the H-1B visa, which sits at the intersection of the Trump Administration’s priorities to restrict legal immigration, put an “America First” policy to work in the labor sector, and increase oversight of tech companies that rely on workers under this category.
The proposal “restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” according to the notice in the Federal Register.
In early 2017, during the final days of the Obama Administration, a rule took effect stating that foreign citizens with legal immigration status under the H-1B visa, as well as several other visa categories, would have a 60-day grace period after they lose their job. That leeway allowed these workers to look for a new job or to change their immigration status.
According to DHS’s calculations, nearly 4,000 workers a year utilize the grace period to submit a new nonimmigrant worker petition after a layoff or resignation. More than 99% of them are H-1B visa holders.
Its removal would also reduce administrative work, as the existing rule states the DHS could skip or shorten the grace period at its discretion. According to the document, from Oct. 1, 2017, through May 20, 2026, the DHS calculated 1.9 million petitions or applications on which USCIS had to assess whether the 60-day period could have potentially applied.
A ripple effect
The proposal could also affect the immigration status of dependents of H-1B visa holders. Immigration advocacy group FWD.us estimates about 730,000 H-1B visa holders living in the U.S., plus 550,000 dependents, including spouses and children.
Remaking the H-1B visa
Since 1990, hundreds of thousands of skilled foreign workers have entered the U.S. through the H-1B visa system. Citizens from India make up the bulk of H-1B visa holders, according to an April U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services report, with China a distant second. Tech industry titans like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and even SpaceX’s Elon Musk have stayed in the U.S. with the help of H-1B visas.
But the Trump Administration has subjected the H-1B visa to various changes, as Trump claims skilled foreign workers have taken away jobs from Americans.
It has since replaced the traditional H-1B lottery with a weighted system favoring higher-skilled, higher-paid workers. And while a court blocked an attempt to impose a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B employers, the Administration in August proposed a new $103,265 fee for certain H-1B petitions and expanded a $4,000 biometric and security fee to cover extension applications from employers with a large foreign workforce.
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