U.S. Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions told a Senate committee that he would take measures to curtail the “misuse” of H-1B visas, a move that could impact Indian IT companies that use them in large numbers.
As a Senator, Mr. Sessions has been in the forefront of a campaign against the H-1B programme, and as AG, he will be able to interfere with it in several ways.
“We have borders. We have a commitment to our citizens and you have been a champion of that. I’ve been honoured to work with you on it,” Mr. Sessions responded to a question from Senator Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A critic of the programme
Mr. Grassley too has been a critic of the programme. “It’s simply wrong to think that we’re in a totally open world and that any American with a job can be replaced if somebody in the world is willing to take a job for less pay,” Mr. Sessions said.
The H-1B visa programme is Congressionally mandated and U.S. courts have held that hiring cheaper foreign workers is maintainable under the law. The executive branch can bring pressure on the programme without changing the law, as its execution is dependent on the processing of visa applications involving multiple departments.
A proactive Justice Department with Mr. Sessions as AG could create significant hurdles.
Moreover, there is an increasing consensus among lawmakers to bring some sort of curbs on the programme. There are bills pending on the programme and the newly elected Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer from New York, is a supporter of restrictions on the programme.
