US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy is soon going to reflect in the H-1B visa and Green Card systems, which aim to give priority to US citizens in jobs instead of foreign workers. The current dispensation is considering wage-based immigration and merit-based selection.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik on Monday asserted that he was part of the reforms, and said they are mulling replacing the current lottery-based system with a peculiar selection-based procedure.
While speaking to Fox News, Lutnik said, “We’re going to change the Green Card. We give green cards — the average American makes $75,000 a year, and the average green card holder $66,000 a year. What are we doing that for? It is like picking the bottom core.” He said this is the reason the US President is going to replace the “Green Card” with a “Gold Card” and start picking the best people.
Lutnik posted on X, “The current H-1B visa system is a scam that lets foreign workers fill American job opportunities. Hiring American workers should be the priority of all great American businesses. Now is the time to hire American.”
The Indian IT professionals accounted for 70% of the visa utilisation, and the change in policy will force companies to access talent abroad. They could shift the jobs to India via outsourcing or remote work.
