Judge blocks Trump rules on tech visas

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down moves by President Donald Trump's administration that were designed to drastically curtail the number of visas issued each year to skilled foreign workers.

The changes applying to the H-1B visa program announced in October include imposing salary requirements on companies employing skilled overseas workers and limits on specialty occupations.

US Department of Homeland Security officials deemed it a priority because of coronavirus-related job losses and estimated as many as one-third of those who have applied for the visas in recent years would be denied under the two new rules.

US District Judge Jeffrey White in California said the US government did not follow transparency procedures and its contention that the changes were an emergency response to pandemic job losses did not hold water because the Trump administration has floated the idea for some time but only published the rules in October."The COVID-19 pandemic is an event beyond defendants' control, yet it was within defendants' control to take action earlier than they did," White wrote.

The United States issues up to 85,000 H-1B visas each year in sectors including technology, engineering and medicine. Usually, they are issued for three years and are renewable. Most of the 600,000 H-1B visa holders in the US are from India and China.

Wider agenda

The H-1B rules announced weeks before the election were part of Trump's wider agenda to curb nearly all forms of immigration. In June, he issued an order temporarily suspending the H-1B program until the end of the year.

The US Chamber of Commerce and universities including the California Institute of Technology sued in California, arguing there wasn't adequate notice or time for the public to comment on the changes.

They also said the rules, particularly related to requiring a prevailing wage for visa-holders, would have a drastic impact on new hires and "sever the employment relationship of hundreds of thousands of existing employees in the United States".

The University of Utah cited an example where an H-1B employee seeking renewal was paid an $80,000 salary but would have to be paid $208,000 under the changes.

The US Chamber of Commerce said in a statement the ruling "has many companies across various industries breathing a huge sigh of relief," with the visa changes having "the potential to be incredibly disruptive to the operations of many businesses".

Bay Area Council chief executive Jim Wunderman said: "This is a major win for our economy and for our ability to recover from the worst downturn in generations."

The rule applying to wages has prompted at least two other lawsuits in New Jersey and Washington.

Agencies and Lia Zhu in San Francisco contributed to this story.