Members of the transition team and leaders in the tech industry held a meeting last month at the Trump Tower. The discussion centered on revamping the procedure in awarding H-1B visa. H-1B visa grants permission to an immigrant to work in the United States. One requirement is that he should possess specialized skills and knowledge.
Every year, 65,000 immigrants are granted the H-1B visa. The number of applicants is so high that selection was done by lottery. However, this defeats the purpose of the H-1B visa. Some applicants might not belong to the group of highly educated and highly skilled professionals. This means that some people who are qualified may not be able to get the H-1B visa simply because their name was not drawn. This will be disadvantageous to engineers, physicians, and other specialists, according to Reuters.
A different way of selecting immigrants to be granted H-1B visa is needed. If skills and knowledge would be the basis, there will be a big chance for immigrant doctors to be kept in the US.
Immigrant doctors comprise a big number of health care professionals in the United States. In fact, there is a forecast that by 2044, the population of the US will be of different races and colors. The US population will be composed of old men and women by that time. They would need health care. The number of American doctors may not be enough to provide all these needs, according to STAT.
It can be recalled that just recently, international students in the US had been worried about their future. However, those taking STEM courses can apply for optional practical training so their visa will be extended. In the case of immigrant professionals, engineers and physicians may have a better chance of having their H-1B visas extended.
