Home » US Immigration - Visas » H1B Visa » Buy American, Hire American Executive Order. H1B Impact

Buy American, Hire American Executive Order. H1B Impact

As updated yesterday by President’s office that Trump will sign an Executive Order today, it happened earlier today.  President Trump signed an executive order called “Buy American and Hire American” today in Wisconsin.  To be more focused for our readers, we will only review, assess impact on the Hire American aspects that are related to H1B Visa Program.

This Executive Order has been referenced in many of the H1B regulations like Changes to H1B Program Definition, New Rules 2020 and Prevailing Wage Levels Regulation for PERM and H1B.

Summary of the Buy American – Hire American Executive Order by Trump for for H1B Program

  • Hire American : The whole idea of Hire American motto is to create a higher wages and employment rates for American workers and protect the national interest by enforcing laws that dictate the entry of temporary workers from abroad.
  • Protect Integrity of US Immigration System :
    • All the immigration agencies heads – Secretary of State, The attorney general, Secretary of Labor and Secretory of Homeland Security , to review, propose new rules and issue new guidance to revise current laws such that US workers interests are protected, including ways to prevent fraud and abuse of the H1B Program.
    • H1Bs for Most Skilled and Highly Paid : All the agencies to review H1B Program, ensure proper functioning of the program and suggest reforms to make sure H1B visa are given to most skilled workers or highest paid applicants.
  • Eliminate H1B Lottery : While, it is not written in the Executive order, In the press conference, President talks about ending H1B Lottery and find a better way to award visas to highest paid and higher skilled workers.
  • Very Vague – No Timelines : Overall, the executive order signed is very vague and does not have any timelines like Buy American. The fact is that there is very little President can do with Executive order, they need to go through Congress and Proper regulatory process.

Impact of the Buy American, Hire American Trump Executive Order for H1B Visa Holders in USA?

In general, President Trump does not have enough power to sign an executive order and change the H1B Program overnight.  Most of the H1B program’s changes are vested in the hands of congress and they will need to take legislative action to implement any major changes or reform the program. The current signed Executive Order by Trump will NOT have any immediate impact on the H1B Program, it will take time.

The executive order signed does not tell anything more than saying that all agencies to do a thorough review of the current H1B Program and how best to protect US workers and prevent abuse of H1B program. Once the required changes are suggested, they will have to go through either standard rule making process or approved by congress to implement the same.  In general, the temporary worker visa program is used across the US by all sorts of companies including giants like Facebook (15% workers are H1B), Google, Microsoft and small startups as well… and it is not that every single company using it is involved in fraud or workers are underpaid…It is those small body shop companies and some outsourcing companies that have historically abused the program.

As of today, nothing changes for the H1B Visa 2018 applicants selected in Lottery, including the current adjudication process. Also, the new measures from USCIS like more H1B Site  visits, report fraud initiatives from earlier this month does not fundamentally change the way H1B petitions are adjudicated, unless if your petition was filed as an entry level 1 programmer with low wage ( you need to check with your attorney on the impact ) and does not qualify for a specialty occupation.

Overall, there will NOT be any immediate impact on the way H1B program works today, including H1B Lottery and how petitions are adjudicated…any proposals that come from agencies will have to go through rule making process or congress and to implement these changes, it will take time…Check out the current H1B Visa Bills Tracker in Congress & Senate

What do you think ? Your thoughts on the Executive Order  ?

References :

   

Other Articles

44 Comments

  1. Hi Gotu,

    AP Employer’s having effective and efficiency and most of the guys settled in USA bcoz of there own perception. AP people never though living in poor state bcoz there living style to posh and high ethical values more over responsible for their family members.coming to the DOWRY part completely based on family position .
    1)Every girl wants to H1B guy only and girls father mind set never change there are willing to give 1 to 5 Cr.

    Don’t target AP, UP , Rajastan we all are brothers.

    Reply
    • When a highly qualified CEO joins a company but kicked out without bonus, that would be a fraud because he was promised bonus in return for his knowledge and effort in growing the company. He would have used his skills to make other company grow who would not ditch him after using him.

      Similarly, qualified H1b’s being in high demand and possessing high skills when hired in a country, have complete right to know when they are hired, that there will be no green card filed for them. That way they can evaluate the benefits and decide if they would like to go in their country or not. If H1b highly skilled labors have the right to know in advance before providing years of knowledge to a country if they will be ditched later by deporting them, which is insulting their decision, knowledge and hard work. Legally withholding highly skilled labor by falsely showing chances of getting green cards but then after using them, deporting them without paying for their job loss or investment loss, is a potential FRAUD!!!

      The US administration just committed a Fraud by announcing denial of H1b extensions to highly skilled labors!!!

      DEFINITION OF FRAUD: a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.

      Reply
  2. My lawyer confirmed today that my cheque sent along with application wasn’t cleared.. is there still any hope?

    3rd attempt in masters category

    Reply
  3. HI, I work in a small start up company Bangalore. My employer filed H1b Last year and got stamped few months back. But due to some reason, USA project got cancelled. Can i enter USA with this employer name and apply for transfer next day after entering USA. Is it legal? though I dont have paystubs and also i havent entered perviously. Please help.Thanks team in advance

    Reply
    • Abdul_H1B Transfer,

      You should enter US on H-1B only if the employer holding your petition wants you to travel to US. Do not enter on this employer’s petition if they don’t want you to travel to US. Try to file a cap-exempt petition from outside US and enter US after the new petition has been approved.

      Reply
      • Thanks sourabh for the reply. My employer agreed to enter USA with their petition with the necessary documents. Can i enter then and after entering can i apply for transfer next day after arrival and work in their company.

        Reply
        • Abdul_H1B Transfer,

          If the employer is willing to call you to US, then you can enter US. It is up to you and new employer to decide how soon to apply for the cap-exempt petition.

          Reply
  4. I agree with the new H1b executive order. H1b is specially designed to get best talent from across the globe in US and if you want best talent you have to pay more since it cannot be done by a any current worker in that organization. One thing I am ashamed of is few Indians mostly from AP they planned to settle in US because according to them India is dirty, full of poor people and have the “DOWRY” thing for H1b in their family. This thing needs to be stopped. If you are in US work for the reason you have come and then go back once you are done.

    Reply
    • Hello Cry Baby,

      Don’t cry on us. Looks you are so desperate and stressed.
      Guys from AP will have great technical skills. Also remember Sathya Nadella is from AP.

      Reply
    • I am in US since last 1 year and what I have observed half of the contractors in my project are Telugu’s of which some of them doesn’t know anything. They fake their profiles and give fake interview. If they get selected by any chance they get themselves trained in a week and join the job but when it comes to work they are blank. Everyone know that Telugu grooms carrying visa gets plenty of dowry.
      Anyways coming to the h1b executive order. The reason why I agree is because US does lack talent in some areas and we have to pitch in to fulfill the place. But the thing that is bothering the most is the salary. Why you get to cut to cut salary. A US citizen with same years of experience as of yours gets paid more. We have done so many certifications and have skills in many areas. Also why contractors are paid more? Let me ask a simple question a guy working in a US based project and working from offshore gets charged 30 $ per hr but when he is in onshore it’s 80$ per hr of which 30$ is paid to him. Now the remaining 50 $ goes to company pocket. Now when a contractor jumps in he gets paid 40$ per hr. So why such difference

      Reply
    • Hi Gotu,

      AP Employer’s having effective and efficiency and most of the guys settled in USA bcoz of there own perception. AP people never though living in poor state bcoz there living style to posh and high ethical values more over responsible for their family members.coming to the DOWRY part completely based on family position .
      1)Every girl wants to H1B guy only and girls father mind set never change there are willing to give 1 to 5 Cr.

      Don’t target AP, UP , Rajastan we all are brothers.

      Reply
    • When a highly qualified CEO joins a company but kicked out without bonus, that would be a fraud because he was supposed to get bonus in return for his knowledge and effort in growing the company. He would have used his skills to make other company grow who would not ditch him after using him.

      Similarly, qualified H1b’s being in high demand and possessing high skills when hired in a country, have complete right to know when they are hired, that there will be no green card filed for them. That way they can evaluate the benefits and decide if they would like to go in that country or not. H1b highly skilled labors have the right to know in advance before providing years of knowledge to a country if they will be ditched later by being deported, which is insulting their decision, knowledge and hard work.

      Legally withholding highly skilled labor by falsely showing chances of being permanent residents but then after using them, deporting them without paying for their job loss or investment loss, is a potential FRAUD!!!

      Trump administration just committed a Fraud by announcing potential denial of H1b extensions to highly skilled labors who offered their knowledge for more than a decade waiting for their green cards.

      DEFINITION OF FRAUD: a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.

      Reply
  5. My friend in AD just inform that he get the mail from attorney that he was selected.
    Of course, I’m will waiting.

    Does anyone have “reald” update?

    Reply
  6. I am a non AD applicant. My attorney says the check is not yet cashed. How long should i wait to get the result or can I assume that my application is not been picked in lottery .

    Reply
  7. Source: All 65000 + 20000 receipt notice are out there. Selection based on lottery for top salaries. Mostly salary above 93K were selected as they fall in the highest 85000 out of 199K applications.

    Reply
  8. A second Timer and hopefully I must get the H1b his time, as I am working in a domain which is rarely met, and I have sufficient experience it that domain.

    Reply
  9. Not smart President.
    Before the Lottery and after Trump becoming President, most of H1b Candidate (at lease AD) hope he can do something to change the terrible random system. But, he had done nothing, or he’s trying to do something after everything had done …

    We – you and me – who read about H1-b news everyday – couldn’t vote, but at least we can show our opinion.

    Do you agree with me?

    Reply
    • I agree with whatever you say. But…. I work in a domain in which there are very few people and very few companies. I tried applying to all the companies in US which are in the same domain. I have over 11 years of development experience and I am definitely a very good candidate. The jobs were open for a long time and the companies could have definitely waited for a few more months. However, I did not get a call from any of those companies even though I fit the role very much. They said, they were only ready to do H1b transfers and not ready to sponsor a new H1b unless I was a fresh MS graduate. I could have easily gotten a 120+K salary had I got a sponsor from those companies.

      Now what other choice did I have? None other than finding consulting companies who would sponsor my Visa for a low wage – move to US – work for them for sometime in domains I don’t even like – and then shift to my domain for a good salary.

      How will people find a good job in US if the companies who pay well and are looking for talent for a long time, are not even ready to sponsor a new H1b?

      Reply
      • H1B program is not developed to move everyone who wants wants to leave their country into the US. It is created to move only the most qualified and scarce talent.

        If a company is not willing to pay for visa application it means that either the position can be filled with candidates from the local market, be it citizens, EAD/GC holders or H1B transfers. Or they are just fine with this position open and it does not affect their business.

        It is the market which should define who gets H1B and who is not. Right now the system is broken.

        Reply
        • @Eric, I agree with whatever you say. However, one manager from company XYZ was more than happy to hire me – that’s what I got in the response email as the job was vacant since 6 months. They could not do it because of the company policy.

          Finally its companies like TCS, Wipro, Infosys will definitely benefit. There is no clear way to fix this system without being unfair to talented guys.

          Reply
        • WHY biggies are not filing for GC then,they just don’t want to take the load and the increasing the head counts, that why they depend upon the low wage sponsors .

          Reply
    • Random system is the best system for a visa like H1B. Companies interview all the candidates and hire them based on the requirements of the company. Even if you have a PhD, you are not useful to a company if you don’t have the skillset the employer is looking for. That being said, the term “highly skilled” is very subjective and depends on the employer, also it doesn’t have anything to do with how many masters degree you acquired.

      Coming to the salary part, it is wrong argument to say highest paid should get the preference for visa. Companies like Google, Microsoft can pay high at the same time, the government can not let the start-ups die. Start-ups are the real innovators and Google, Facebook were once started as start-ups.

      Both advanced degree or highly paid assumptions won’t pass in the congress as the issue has been discussed with these points. However, the changes could include increased minimum wage (based on the median wage in each state) and restrict number of visas for each country (like the current system for green cards). No single country should be allowed more than 30% of the visa pool and hence, the abuse can be minimized.

      Reply
        • Good luck with that! Just because you bought a certificate, you won’t be getting your visa. Hold tight and see how the abuses will be tackled! Importance should be given to start up companies and all consultants should be denied, as there is no proper background verification done by these agencies.

          Reply
      • Highly paid assumption definitely holds. The markets will choose what kind of people are valued in the form of salary in general. Your argument that start up won’t pay as high as Google for Facebook is too naive. In fact, a large portion of Google and Facebook employees went to start up for higher pay and potential chance of being rich after IPO or acquisition.

        Reply
        • Let me believe what you mentioned is true for a while, but based on what assumptions? There are very few start-ups which are ready to go public and they are ready to pay matching salary like Google. However, there are many other budding startups, which can’t afford high salary.

          Here is a report from 2015 by Business Insider, which shows hardly any startup paying $100k for a skilled job. It is not because they are not willing to pay, but they can’t afford as they are still at the beginning of their business.

          http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-you-can-make-at-startups-2015-10/#marketing-over-90000-people-who-help-find-customers-and-leads-are-also-not-being-paid-as-well-as-developers-9

          Reply
    • What have you expected from him? Since he took the office on 01/20/17, he has been busy to repeal and replace Obmamcare and many other things. H1B is just 1 of his many targets and he doesn’t have enough time to do it this year, doesn’t mean he won’t or can’t do anything. H1B program will change significantly from next year. Even if he had signed this order on the 1st day in office, USCIS still would have had enough time to come up with the new system.

      Reply
  10. Kumar

    Thanks for the summary. I think, this order was primarily targeted as a Buzz and don’t have major impact for this year.

    Another comment on this post. I read that the recommendation were to “suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries”.

    It is either most skilled or highest paid and it is not “most skilled and highest paid”. I’m sure there will be lot of iterations before the suggestions are recommended and then it gets passed a Law.

    ————————
    Sec. 5. Ensuring the Integrity of the Immigration System in Order to “Hire American.” (a) In order to advance the policy outlined in section 2(b) of this order, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, as soon as practicable, and consistent with applicable law, propose new rules and issue new guidance, to supersede or revise previous rules and guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of United States workers in the administration of our immigration system, including through the prevention of fraud or abuse.

    (b) In order to promote the proper functioning of the H-1B visa program, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, as soon as practicable, suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.

    —————————————

    Reply
  11. I am pretty sure there will not be a big impact at least for the FY18, Trump had to live up to the promise he made before the election and hence such buzz, EO is just a wake up call and it might take time for the consulates to wake up…

    Reply

Leave a Comment