CEOs slam U.S. immigration policy

‘ Trump’s policies could harm American companies’ competitiveness’

August 24, 2018 09:24 pm | Updated August 25, 2018 08:10 am IST - New York

U.S. President Donald Trump. File

U.S. President Donald Trump. File

The Trump administration’s “inconsistent” immigration policies, including on the H1-B visa for professionals, could “disrupt” operations of American firms and inflict “substantial harm” on their competitiveness, CEOs from top U.S. companies have warned.

In a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, members of the Business Roundtable, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, President and CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga and Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins said confusion around U.S. immigration policy “creates anxiety for employees who follow the law”.

The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of America’s leading companies, told Ms. Nielsen on Thursday that “inconsistent government action and uncertainty undermines economic growth and American competitiveness”.

Stuck in the process

Due to a shortage of green cards for workers, many employees find themselves stuck in an immigration process lasting more than a decade, they said.

To avoid unnecessary costs and complications for American businesses, the U.S. government should not change the rules in the middle of the process, the CEOs said, pointing out to the several policy memoranda over the past year by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that have resulted in “arbitrary and inconsistent adjudications”.

“Companies now do not know whether a work visa petition that was approved last month will be approved when the company submits the identical application to extend the employee’s status,” they said.

In particular, the CEOs said they are worried about changes to the review process for H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, expected changes to the rules for spouses of H-1B employees and planned changes to certain deportation rules.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Employees who qualify for H-1B jobs often hold degrees in science, tech, engineering or math, and are highly sought after by employers, the CEOs said.

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