In a proclamation released Monday, US President Donald Trump expanded visa limits to limit the admission of migrant employees to the United States. The move sparked alarm among scientists and drew fire from experts concerned about the US science’s future.
According to the regulation, by the end of the year, the United States will cease issuing certain types of foreign-worker visas — in specific, the H-1B visa issued to international faculty members employed by colleges and workers recruited by tech companies.
The Trump administration described the decision as a move to stave off the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and to give job priority to US citizens.
The freeze will be effective starting from the 24th of June. It will not apply to people currently living in the United States or to individuals with other proper documents for entry into the country.
According to senior administration officials, it provides exemptions for some foreign workers — academics on J-1 visas, often postdoctoral researchers.
Visa issuing officers at U.S. consulates abroad will evaluate petitions for other exemptions, including demands from researchers or doctors involved in COVID-19 work. Experts called for a move and stated that international talent is vital to keep the US scientific enterprise competitive.
“This is a huge deal,” says Julia Phillips, a member of the US National Science Foundation’s governing board and former chief technology officer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Last year, according to the Department of State, the United States granted more than 188,000 H-1B visas across various domains. In a January report from the National Science Foundation, 30 percent of people in science and engineering occupations in the united states were born outside the country.
“We find it highly worrying, especially when medical residents receive H-1B visas and faculties that are required to prepare the US workforce,” says Lizbet Boroughs, Associate Vice-President for Federal Affairs at the Association of American Universities in Washington DC, whose affiliates include leading US research institutions.
“The bottom line is that the termination of H-1B visa processing would have an impact on American research and innovation, and on America’s ability to educate and instruct its academic workforce,” she says.
Source: Nature
