ZT TEAM REPORT (with Reuters inputs)
Srinagar: As President Donald Trump suspended the entry into the United States of certain foreign workers on Monday, several visa aspirants from India, including Jammu & Kashmir are likely to be impacted.
Trump issued a presidential proclamation that temporarily blocks foreign workers entering on H-1B visas, which are for skilled employees, and L visas, for managers and specialized workers being transferred within a company. Trump also blocked those entering on H-2B seasonal worker visas, which are used by landscapers and other industries.
With these exemptions, those skilled and specialised workers from Jammu & Kashmir who would aspire to work in the United States are unlikely to secure visas now.
There are over 1000 families from J&K or J&K-origin based in the US, however the latest visa rules do not apply to the US residents with long term visas or green cards.
The visa suspension, which runs to the end of the year, will open up 525,000 jobs for U.S. workers, a senior administration official said on a call with reporters.
The official, who did not explain how the administration arrived at that figure, said the move was geared at “getting Americans back to work as quickly as possible.”
But businesses including major tech companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the visa suspension would stifle the economic recovery after the damage done by the pandemic.Critics of the measure say Trump is using the pandemic to enact his longstanding goal to limit immigration into the United States.
The immediate effects of the proclamation will likely be limited, as U.S. consulates around the world remain closed for most routine visa processing.
The proclamation exempts those already in the United States, as well as valid visa holders overseas, but they must have an official travel document that permits entry into the United States. Immigration attorneys were working on Monday to determine what the order might mean for some clients currently overseas.