WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, April 18, ordered federal agencies to look at tightening the H1B visa program used to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the US, as he tries to carry out his campaign pledges to put “America First“.

The EO also establishes certain Hire American standards, which are not necessarily limited to federal procurement or federally-funded projects. This primarily includes an overhaul of the “H1B” visa program to replace the lottery features of the program and to impose restrictions designed to preclude the H1B program from being a conduit for lower-cost labor at the expense of American workers.

The latest action is part of Trump’s administration relentless series of tightening measures and is a major deterrent to Indian IT companies which send hundreds of software engineers to the US on H1B visas.

The executive order doesn’t actually make any change in the policy as it stands today.

This year there were 199,000 applications for the H1B visas even after the USCIS guidelines released April 3 clarifying that computer programmers will not be eligible for H1B visas by default.

The Trump administration appears to be keen to scrap the lottery system, which is why it is insisting on a higher wage floor as a first eligibility criterion to apply for the visa. It may also set a minimum education criterion, skewering the hopes of many Indians who hope to gain entry into the US.

H1B visas are intended for foreign nationals in occupations that generally require higher education, including science, engineering or computer programming. The government uses a lottery to award 65,000 visas every year and randomly distributes another 20,000 to graduate student workers.

Critics say the lottery benefits outsourcing firms that flood the system with mass applications for visas for lower-paid information technology workers.

“Right now, H1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery and that’s wrong. Instead, they should be given to the most skilled and highest paid applicants and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans,” Trump said.

At present, about 70 per cent of the 85,000 H1B visas issued annually go to Indians, with more than half of that to software professionals. The infotech industry adds around 10 per cent to India‘s GDP.

Senior officials gave few details on implementation of the order but Trump aides have expressed concern that most H1B visas are awarded for lower-paid jobs at outsourcing firms, many based in India, which they say takes work away from Americans.

They seek a more merit-based way to give the visas to highly skilled workers.

“Right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries,” Trump said.

Read the full EO at  https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/18/presidential-executive-order-buy-american-and-hire-american? utm_source= email&utm_medium= email&utm_content=20170419_ADM_1600-Daily