Trump Freezes Green Cards, Many Work Visas Until End Of Year:
President Trump on Monday extended a freeze on green cards for new immigrants and signed an executive order to suspend new H-1B, L-1, J and other temporary work visas for skilled workers, managers and au pairs through the end of the year.
The goal of the move is to protect 525,000 jobs as part of the White House response to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, said a senior administration official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity. NPR first reported the impending order on Saturday.
"Americans have been hurt through no fault of their own due to the coronavirus," the official said. "And the president is prioritizing getting them back into the labor supply and getting them to work and standing on their own two feet again."
[...] But other workers will also be affected, including foreign au pairs who provide child care. Professors and scholars are not to be included in the order, the official said. There will be a provision to request exemptions. The order is not expected to affect immigrants and visa holders already in the United States.
[...] The order did not apply to H-2A agriculture workers, who Trump says are necessary to ensure grocery store shelves remain stocked with fruits and vegetables. Health care workers involved in treating coronavirus patients will also be exempt.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:38AM
I think that sort of disingenuous suggestion isn't really adding much here. In the US the vast majority of people with STEM degrees do not work in STEM. And beyond this most jobs in STEM don't even really necessitate a STEM degree. On top of this education in India is a bit different than the US. Not only does India has a rampant and extreme problem with cheating at all levels, but they also have a rather different take on grades. Like many places in Asia, their definition of an 'A' is somewhat different than ours. In India it's generally 60-100 = A, 50-59 = B, 40-49 = C.
I'm sure you're probably aware of the reputation of Indian software developers. It's not just a meme. They are genuinely awful on average. That doesn't mean all Indian developers are, by any means, but you are going to get a biased sample when you think about the guys whose career decision is to go build products for mediocre wages and less than desirable working conditions under billion dollar multinationals. "They're not sending us their best." So I don't know about Joe meat packer, but all other things being equal, I'd generally take a chemistry undergrad from a good US school over your average Indian biochem doctorate.