US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JUL-SEP 2020

13 US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 attempts to cut legal immigration. This is a full-frontal attack on American innovation and our nation’s ability to benefit from attracting talent from around the world," Schulte added. The Wall Street Journal said the order would likely be chal- lenged in court by business groups. “I’d bet a large sum of money that none of these visa bans are ‘temporary.’ It’s abundantly clear that they will last as long as Trump is in office,” immigration attorney Doug Rand told News India Times. Rand worked on immigra- tion policy in the Obama White House as Assistant Director for Entrepreneurship, and is now the co-founder of Boundless Immigration, a technology compa- ny that deals with green cards and citizenship. Some experts note the Proclamation has little or no effect on those already inside the U.S. and undergoing any status changes. It effects those still out- side but waiting to come in before December, particularly by the Oct. 31, 2020 lottery for H-1B visas. And they are already limited by the fact that visa offices around the globe have not been open to process any paperwork. "If you look at visas issued in the last two months, they are effectively zero just a few hundred globally. And that's going to con- tinue for a few months more," said Prakash Khatri, former Ombudsman at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. “I’m deeply disappointed by President Trump’s misguided order to suspend these key work visa programs," Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, told News India Times in an email response. "I urge him to reverse this decision to help ensure our health care system and broader economy are ready to combat the next phase of this pandemic and to create the jobs we need for our economic recovery," he added. "The H-1B program in particular plays a crucial role in addressing our dangerous shortage of health care professionals while also pro- viding other key sectors of our economy with talent from around the world to not only fill jobs, but create new ones," Krishnamoorthi asserted, "Suspending this pro- gram will only weaken our econo- my and our health care workforce at a time when the need to strengthen both is as clear as ever.” However, the extension of the pause on H-1Bs is "temporary action" the official made clear. "The more permanent actions that he is directing us to take include reforming the H-1B system to move in the direction of a more merit-based system," one based on getting the "best and the brightest" immigrants, the official added. Under the longer-term reforms, the administration wants the H-1B program to prioritize those work- ers who are offered the highest wages. The official noted that for the 85,000 H-1B visas, the U.S. sees some 225,000 applications last year for example. Up until this year, those visas have then been distributed by random lottery, a system that the President wants to get rid of and replace with rank- ing salaries, so that those 85,000 who get the highest salary offers out of the 225,000, would get the H-1B visa, a way to drive up wage and skill levels for H-1B appli- cants, the administration believes. That in turn would mean the 85,000 would not be competing with American citizens for those jobs, the official contended. "Legislation would have to be introduced to bring that about," notes Khatri, now an immigration lawyer in Washington, D.C. "It is an aspirational goal of the President. He is saying to his con- stituents that he is wanting to shut down most of the immigration into this country," Khatri said. "A good portion of immigrants International travelers (reflected in a closed door) arrive at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 29, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder