Earlier today a
piece of news story was reported by Reuters on setting 15% H1B cap by country
and very specifically India due to the trade tensions and tariffs. Based on
that one piece of news by Reuters, many media agencies picked that up and the
same is republished based on that. I recall the news story of 130K
USD minimum wage limit news for H1B, how much confusion it has created and
how far it went after that few days…basically no where. Let me clarify the
reality on the current news.
H1B Cap Limit of 10 to 15 % by Country – What is it ?
The high-level gist of the news is that, US is planning to put in country limits for H1B quota cap. They say that US is considering putting the limit of 10% to 15% limit on H1B visa cap by country for India and others, who have put in data storage requirements for US companies to store their data in their country like India. This is based on India and US related trade tensions related to tariffs and last year data storage related escalations by Mastercard and Others. In fact, on the data storage requirements news, currently the Indian Central bank is looking at the issue of payments data storage requirements again based on the concerns raised by these companies. Anyways, the basis for the news that US is planning for this H1B limits is that there are data storage requirements and it is like “tit-for-tat” . Also, the reason for discussion now is that Mike Pompeo’s, who is US secretary of state is visiting New Delhi in upcoming days. Now, let’s do the fact checking…
Update : Reuters reported again next day on June 21st,2019, where they said that US State Department confirmed that US does not have any such plans. See below screenshot and check out Reuters Article
Who reported the H1B Cap Limits Story ? Is it Official and True ?
Well, all the
news originated on the basis of one news story reported by Reuters, check that
news at : Reuters
on setting 15% H1B cap . Based on this news story, many other Indian media
agencies like NDTV, Times of India, Channel News Asia, and many others have
picked it up based on their collaboration and published it all over. Also, one key thing to note is that this news
is reported by Reuters India and they say it is collaborated with US
counterparts. Now, the news reported says that it is sensitive info and cannot
have names.
In any case, it is NOT an official
press release done by White House, USCIS, DHS or US Secretary of State, etc….It
is an based on some insider information that Reuters claims and neither Indian
Government or US government made any official press release on such plans or
thoughts… To give you a perspective of reality check on these kinds of news, earlier
this year we had an official press release, Trump speech on Introduction of Merit
Based Green Cards – Points System by Trump , so far on such a big announcement,
there are NO details as of today. Also, many such news stories are written because
everyone wants some sensation in news, something controversy…something to
discuss and get more pageviews… Also, this news is NOT written by a SINGLE reputed
US Media Agency yet like CNN, WSJ, New York Times, etc….If it were to be such a
big deal, would have been covered by major US news outlets. Now, opinions
aside, let’s look at reality
Can Trump Administration put per country cap of 10% to 15% on H1Bs ? How realistic is it ?
To give you a
perspective on history,
the H1B cap was changed in 2004, where they introduced 20,000 US Masters
Cap and the H1B cap was reverted from 195,000 to 65,000. The change of H1B cap
from 195,000 to 65,000 was based on AC 21 act by congress. See below screenshot
and check USCIS
Official AC21 reference. The introduction of US Masters Cap was based
on the H1B visa reform Act of 2004. See below and Check USCIS
Official H1B Reform Act Reference.
Both of these were Congress driven and USCIS only implemented them. So, technically the current administration cannot do anything random like introducing of the per country limits based on some Data Storage Requirements by another country.
Does President has authority to do so for H1B Cap ? Recent Travel Ban ?
In recent times, President Trump leveraged the INA Section 212(f) for the travel ban. If you look closely below screenshot of INA 212(f), this may be invoked by president to ban individuals entering US that are not in the best interests of US. But, in the current context of putting per country cap like 10 to 15% of H1Bs as quota during the H1B process is something very different and this cannot be done as President does not have direct authority to change the statue or congress action. It will go through a lot of lawsuits, if something is done so just for trade negotiation.
Also, as you know, current Trump administration is already having hard time with H4 EAD Rule Removal Lawsuit , despite having it as their priority in their regulatory agenda. Also, they could NOT even change the H1B Lottery process fully and only went for H1B registration Rule… While, it can be a topic to discuss for news agencies, I do not think that this can be easily done like a trade talk and putting tariffs as immigration is very different from trade in this context and regulations do not allow such changes without Congress blessing. Also, even if they were to try it, it has a long way to go and nothing worry, there will be enough lawsuits to justify the value and economic impact of H1Bs and it will NOT go anywhere…So, don’t worry by reading the media reports…
While, it can be a topic to discuss for news agencies, I do not think that this can be easily done like a trade talk and putting tariffs as immigration is very different from trade in this context and regulations do not allow such changes without Congress blessing. Also, even if they were to try it, it has a long way to go and nothing worry, there will be enough lawsuits to justify the value and economic impact of H1Bs and it will NOT go anywhere…So, don’t worry by reading the media reports…
What do you
think on this ? What are your thoughts on the per country limits for H1Bs ?
Satheesh Kumar Ilu, commonly known as Kumar, is the founder of RedBus2US.com. He is an Immigration and Study Abroad expert. He holds an MS from the University of Houston–Clear Lake and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He studied, lived, and worked in the U.S. and Singapore for nearly two decades, and has traveled to over 25 countries.
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4 Comments
Hi Kumar,
If this is TRUE (in case), the rule will be implemented in future or will be affect on 2018,2019 petitions?
I understand that any immigration change needs congress blessings. But this administration can do like muslim ban.
They can create crazy EO to ban people from India based on national security issues. India supports Iran and buys their oil. That could be used as a reason. Even though this might lead to court action, by that time the harm is done.
Immigration is a hot topic now and his base support whatever be says. This might even lead to racist incidents. So need to be mindful in public.
Hi Kumar,
If this is TRUE (in case), the rule will be implemented in future or will be affect on 2018,2019 petitions?
It will only be in future for FY 2021. They already confirmed that there are no such plans.
I understand that any immigration change needs congress blessings. But this administration can do like muslim ban.
They can create crazy EO to ban people from India based on national security issues. India supports Iran and buys their oil. That could be used as a reason. Even though this might lead to court action, by that time the harm is done.
Immigration is a hot topic now and his base support whatever be says. This might even lead to racist incidents. So need to be mindful in public.
Yeah, the current administration has been notorious for controversial actions…