United States President Donald Trump has directed his administration to move in the direction of merit-based immigration and suspend issuing of H-1B visas, popular among Indian IT professionals, along with other foreign work visas for the entire year.

This move comes with an aim to help millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the ongoing economic crisis. The Trump Administration will reform the immigration system to prioritise the highest-skilled workers and protect American jobs, White House officials said.

Under the new reforms, the H-1B programme will prioritise workers who are given the highest wage, making sure that the highest-skilled applicants are admitted. The Administration will also shut loopholes that have let employers in the US to replace American workers with low-cost foreign labour, officials said.

The temporary suspension of foreign work visas including H-1B is expected to create up to 5,25,000 jobs in the US, senior administration officials said.

Issuing the proclamation to suspend the H1B Visa, ahead of the November presidential elections, Trump has neglected the increasing opposition to the order by various business organisations, lawmakers and human rights groups.

The proclamation comes into effect on June 24 and is expected to impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the government for the year fiscal 2021 starting October 1.

They would now have to wait till the end of the current year before getting a stamp from the US diplomatic missions. It would also affect Indian IT professionals who wish to renew their H-1B visas.

‘In the administration of our Nation’s immigration system, we must remain mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labour market, particularly in the current extraordinary environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labour,’ the proclamation issued by Trump said.

The overall unemployment rate in the US nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020 -producing some of the most extreme unemployment rates ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proclamation issues by President Trump read.

Also Read: Trump Administration Considering Suspending H1B Visa Over Rising Unemployment In US: Report