特朗普要对H-1B签证下手了，硕士以下将更难赴美工作

美国总统特朗普近日造访了威斯康星州的一家工具工厂，同时也接见了那些帮助他赢得大选的蓝领工人。在此行期间，特朗普还将预计签署一项被他的执政团队称为“买美国货，用美国人”的行政法令。

根据两名白宫高级官员上周一发布的一份简报，作为贯彻落实特朗普总统“用美国人”政策的一部分，该行政令特别指示各联邦机构要“严肃处理移民系统的欺诈和滥用行为”，同时要求美国国务院及劳工部、司法部、国土安全部启动对外籍员工H-1B签证政策的改革。

特朗普在大选期间就曾经拉被裁员的IT业员工给自己壮声势，并呼吁废止H-1B签证项目。他起初曾表示，H-1B签证对美国工人简直是一种“屠杀”，并且会降低美国工人的工资。但他后来在这个问题上的态度突然发生了软化。本月早些时候，美国政府再次开放了H-1B签证的申请，今年的85,000个配额也未受特朗普政府的干扰。

什么是H-1B签证？

H-1B签证允许美国企业短期雇佣外籍工人从事科学、工程、信息技术等领域的专业性岗位。所聘请的外籍工人通常需具备高度专业化的知识，并且至少要具备相关专业领域的学士以上学位。H-1B签证允许外籍工人一次性居留三年。

H-1B签证在硅谷使用得很广，特别是在以塔塔（Tata）、印孚瑟斯（Infosys）和高知特（Cognizant）等为代表的外包型公司。这些公司每年付给持H-1B签证的外籍员工的薪水大约在65,000至70,000美元之间，而谷歌和微软这种企业更是能给出10万美元以上的高薪。几乎70%的H-1B签证的持有者都是印度人。

每年，美国政府都会向外国人发放85,000份H-1B签证，其中有2万份是专门发给硕士学历以上人群的。H-1B签证主要通过随机抽签的形式发放。

由于H-1B签证非常有含金量，一般美国政府的申请窗口刚刚打开几天，申请的人数就超过了上限。今年《纽约时报》还专门报道了签证申请如潮涌入的盛况。申请窗口打开不到四天，美国公民及移民服务局（USCIS）就达到了申请上限。

特朗普的“用美国人”行政令对H-1B签证项目有何影响？

简而言之，至少在短期内不会有什么影响。特朗普的“买美国货，用美国人”行政令预计并不会在短期内改革H-1B签证项目，不过它的确已经敦促四家联邦机构提出改革方案。

白宫的一位高级官员本周一表示，美国政府的目标是最终改革H-1B签证的抽签制度，因为该制度过于向低薪工人倾斜。改革后的制度将更倾向于高技能的高薪人才——如具备硕士学历以上者。

他表示：“我们要对这些签证的发放建立一个全新的架构。我的意思是，它将是H-1B项目的彻底转型。”

其它可能的改革措施还包括提高该签证的手续费等。

该白宫官员还指出，有关机构将根据正式流程制定相关规则，或则将采取必要的立法措施以对该项目进行改革。

今年1月，H-1B签证的改革事宜的确曾被提到美国国会讨论。然而自从1月13日以来，它仍然被搁置在国会下属的一个移民委员会，目前仍未有任何动向。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

President Trump heads to Wisconsin this afternoon to pay a visit to a tool factory and the blue collar workers who helped win him the election. During the trip, he’s expected to sign what his aides are calling a “Buy American, Hire American” executive order.

According to a briefing by two senior White House officials Monday, The “Hire American” part specifically directs federal agencies to “crack down on fraud and abuse” in the immigration system. It also calls for the Departments of Labor, Justice, Homeland Security, and State to suggest reforms to the H-1B visa program for foreign workers.

The move comes after Trump, as a candidate, paraded laid-off IT workers onstage and called for the end of the H-1B visa program. He at first said the visas “decimate” American workers and depress U.S. wages, but later seemed to flip-flop on the issue. The government opened up applications for H-1B visas earlier this month, with allocations for 85,000 visas untouched by Trump.

What’s an H-1B visa?

The visa allows companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations including fields like science, engineering, and information technology. Workers are usually required to have highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specialty or its equivalent. The visas last for three years at a time.

They’re widely used in Silicon Valley, whose largest employers include outsourcing firms like Tata, Infosys, and Cognizant. According to Bloomberg, these companies tend to pay H-1B workers $65,000 to $75,000 a year, far less than the $100,000 or more at Google and Microsoft. Nearly 70% of all H-1B visas go to Indian workers.

Each year, a total of 85,000 H-1B visas are granted to foreign workers, with 20,000 earmarked for those with master’s degrees or higher. The visas are distributed through a random lottery.

Demand for the visas is so high, the U.S. government often reaches its cap within mere days of opening up the application window. This year, the New York Times documented how applications arrived by the truckload. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services met its cap on visas within just four days.

How will Trump's "Hire American" executive order change the program?

In short, it won't ... at least not yet. The president’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order is not expected to change the H-1B program immediately, but it does direct four federal agencies to propose reforms.

A senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the directive Monday, said the goal is to eventually switch away from a random lottery system for H-1B visas, which is weighted toward low-wage workers, toward a system that favors higher-skilled, higher-paid workers, like those with master’s degrees.

“You're creating an entirely new structure for awarding these visas. I mean, it is a completely -- it is a total transformation of the H-1B program,” he said.

Other possible reforms include raising fees for the visas.

The White House official also noted that ultimately, agencies will have to follow the official rulemaking process, or legislative action will be required to change the program.

Although Congress did introduce an H-1B reform bill in January, it has sat untouched in an immigration subcommittee since Jan. 13.