Trump administration contemplates further freeze on temporary work visas: Report

Citing the adverse conditions created by the Pandemic, Trump administration is contemplating enacting further freeze on various temporary work visas, including H-1B, L-1 and certain J-1 visas even though he faces tough disapproval from various corners.

It was in June, Trump signed the proclamation suspending entry to non-U.S. citizens who “present a risk to the U.S. labor market following the coronavirus outbreak.”

However, in October, a judge blocked the Trump administration’s ban on many foreign worker visas, but the ruling only applied to the companies represented by the business groups involved in the case, a report by NPR said.

According to the report, Trump’s move to further freeze the temporary work visas comes in the wake of Joe Biden’s victory in the recently held presidential election. According to the report, Trump reckons that President-elect Joe Biden would have to carry the political implications of lifting the moratorium next year when many U.S. workers may possibly continue jobless due to the pandemic. The supporters of the proclamation argue that pandemic has caused widespread job loss and they urge the government to further impose ban on foreign workers.

However, the business community is demanding lifting the six-month moratorium and arguing it threatens America’s economic interests.

“Banning critical and skilled workers from entering the country was a mistake, and it disrupted manufacturers’ fight against COVID-19 at exactly the wrong time,” National Association of Manufacturers’s general counsel, Linda Kelly, told NPR in a statement Wednesday. “Manufacturers’ legal case halted the ban and ensured we could continue leading our pandemic response and economic recovery. Any effort to extend this misguided and unlawful policy would only hamper recovery efforts and undermine innovation at this consequential moment in our nation’s history.”

Earlier, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s decision, charging that the rules would “devastate companies across various industries” if allowed to stand.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, wrote a letter this week urging Trump to extend the measures well into 2021, noting it would leave Biden with a tough policy and political decision, NPR reported.