H-1B Is A 'Work In Progress,' Says Donald Trump's Aide
Close X
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
ADVT 
International

H-1B Is A 'Work In Progress,' Says Donald Trump's Aide

IANS, 01 Nov, 2018 06:00 PM
    The Trump administration is working on reforming the H-1B foreign workers visa programme which will be part of a skills- and merit-based legal immigration system, the White House said on Thursday.
     
     
    Larry Kudlow, who is the chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump, in an interaction with reporters agreed that H-1B attracts talented professionals and companies currently are having difficulties in hiring people on H-1B visas.
     
     
    "The president has laid this out. We need legal immigration. We need skills-based, merit-based immigration. Those are just a few of the issues. That would be terrific. We can't seem to get it through Congress. But skills-based, and merit-based and not a family chain-based, I think they will be very useful," Kudlow said.
     
     
    He said the Trump administration is looking at H-1B visas.
     
     
    "We're looking at it. It's a work in progress," he said. Changes in H-1B visas, he said, will be part of a larger reform package.
     
     
    "The thrust of that is merit-, skills-based, which is going to be very significant change. We should've done it years ago. The president is absolutely right (on this)," he said.
     
     
    "H-1Bs and lots of other classifications of visas, we are looking at all of that stuff," Kudlow said.
     
     
    The Trump administration, he said, is proposing to get rid of the lottery system for visas.
     
     
    However, he did not clarify if this is for H-1B visas' lottery or diversity visas. Trump in the past has called for doing away with the lottery for diversity visas. Of late the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is proposing to make changes in the lottery system for H-1B visas.
     
     
    Kudlow said the changes in the H-1B visas does not mean an increase in its intake. Currently the US Congress has mandated 65,000 H-1B visas per annum and an additional 20,000 to those who have completed higher education from US in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
     
     
    "No," he said when asked if he is proposing an increase in H-1B visas. "I'm saying I don't want to predict. I'm just saying we're looking at it. It's a work in progress and if we could start getting a serious conversation on immigration reform with the Congress, then we'll say," he said.
     
     
    "I can't say up. I can't say down. It's part of that overall package. I emphasise the president's view on legal immigration reform. One of the pillars of that has to be skills-based and merit-based, border security, et cetera. You probably know it all," he said.
     
     
    "We would love to have that conversation and get a good immigration reform," Kudlow said.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Temple School In Pakistan Where Muslim Woman Teaches Hindu Students

    Temple School In Pakistan Where Muslim Woman Teaches Hindu Students
    Inside a Hindu temple in a shanty area in Pakistan’s Karachi city, Anum Agha wearing the traditional Muslim Hijab greets her students with ‘salaam’ and gets a loud ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in response.

    Temple School In Pakistan Where Muslim Woman Teaches Hindu Students

    New Jersey Radio Station Hosts Suspended For Racist Rant Get Training On Sikh Religion

    New Jersey Radio Station Hosts Suspended For Racist Rant Get Training On Sikh Religion
    Yesterday,the Sikh Coalition led a Sikh awareness training with nearly 30 employees of NJ 101.5, a radio station owned by Townsquare Media, Inc., after radio hosts made disrespectful comments about New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and his turban on July 25th. 

    New Jersey Radio Station Hosts Suspended For Racist Rant Get Training On Sikh Religion

    Store Worker Charged With Murder Of Sikh Business-Owner Tarlok Singh In US

    Store Worker Charged With Murder Of Sikh Business-Owner Tarlok Singh In US
    Authorities have arrested a man who had worked at a store in the city's suburb of East Orange and charged him with the murder of Tarlok Singh, the Sikh who owned the shop, according to the local prosecutor's office.

    Store Worker Charged With Murder Of Sikh Business-Owner Tarlok Singh In US

    Indian Students’ Group In UK Calls For Action On Fake Calls Scam

    Indian Students’ Group In UK Calls For Action On Fake Calls Scam
    An Indian students’ group in Britain on Tuesday called for action to support members who had been subjected to a fake calls scam, which involves fraudsters claiming to be from the UK Home Office and threatening innocent students with deportation.

    Indian Students’ Group In UK Calls For Action On Fake Calls Scam

    UK Government Distances Itself From Pro-Khalistan Rally In London

    UK Government Distances Itself From Pro-Khalistan Rally In London
    The so-called 'London Declaration on Referendum 2020' rally, organised by Sikhs for Justice on August 12, triggered a diplomatic row with India

    UK Government Distances Itself From Pro-Khalistan Rally In London

    Indian-Origin Man In South African Held For Killing Cousin Over Fight On TV Remote

    Indian-Origin Man In South African Held For Killing Cousin Over Fight On TV Remote
    A South African Indian-origin man has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting dead his cousin during a heated argument over a TV remote control, police said.

    Indian-Origin Man In South African Held For Killing Cousin Over Fight On TV Remote