The Department of Labor announced Jan. 12 that it has finalized a rule that would raise the four mandatory wage levels for H-1B workers, in an attempt to prevent abuse of the program by employers.
The new rule, which goes into effect 60 days after it is entered into the Federal Register, also applies to EB-2 and EB-3 visa applicants, H1B1 workers from Singapore and Chile, and E-3 visa holders from Australia. The majority of H-1B visas are held by highly-skilled workers from India.
âThe U.S. Department of Labor is taking these steps to strengthen wage protections, address abuses in visa programs, and protect American workers from being undercut by cheaper foreign labor,â said Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia in a press statement.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced Dec. 8 that she would overhaul the U.S. immigration system within 100 days after taking office.
In a speech at the virtual National Immigration Integration Conference, organized by the National Partnership for New Americans, the Indian American politician vowed that the new Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration would send a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress within the first 100 days, reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and repeal the Muslim ban.
She lambasted the Trump administration for its hard-nosed approach to both legal and undocumented immigration. âThese last four years have been heartbreaking and extremely difficult. Children have been separated from their families. Those fleeing persecution have been denied the ability to apply for refuge.â
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