Bill targeting H1B visas reintroduced in US Congress
WASHINGTON: A bill backing key changes in the H1-B programme that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US has been re-introduced in the US Congress by two lawmakers who claim that it will help crack down on the work visa abuse.
The ‘Protect and Grow American Jobs Act’ makes important changes to the eligibility requirements for H1-B Visa exemptions was re-introduced on Wednesday by Republican Darrell Issa and Scott Peters both from California.
The bill among other things increase the minimum salary of H-1B visa to USD 100,000 per annum and eliminate the Masters Degree exemption.
The legislation, they argued, will help crack down on abuse and ensure that these jobs remain available for the best and brightest talent from around the world.
The bill comes after a number of companies – Disney, Socal Edison and others – have come under fire for abusing the H1B Visa programme to replace American workers with foreign workers.
“In order for America to lead again, we need to ensure we can retain the world s best and brightest talent. At the same time, we also need to make sure programs are not abused to allow companies to outsource and hire cheap foreign labor from abroad to replace American workers,” Issa said.
“The legislation we’re introducing on Thursday does both. It will ensure that our valuable high-skilled immigration spots are used by companies when the positions cannot be filled by the existing workforce,” Issa said.
By raising the salary to a level more in-line with the average American salary for these positions, it would help cut down on abuse by removing the profit incentive and ensuring these positions remain available for companies who truly need them, a media release said.
“Curbing abuse of the H1-B system will protect American jobs and help ensure that visas are available for innovators who need them to maintain a competitive workforce,” Peters said.
“This bipartisan bill makes one of the much-needed updates to our high-skilled visa system to level the playing field and help prevent companies from taking advantage of the system to offshore jobs,” the Congressman said.
The two lawmakers claimed that the legislation would cut down on abuse by eliminating the masters degree exemption, which has become abused as foreign workers seeking H1B Visas have increasingly sought and obtained low-quality certificates to meet the requirements for an exemption just to qualify for H1B, instead of keeping the positions open for truly high- skilled positions that companies cannot fill domestically.
The bill had faced opposition last year in Congress.
Reshaping immigration is a central tenet of President- elect Donald Trump’s push for companies to invest and hire more in the US.
Trump has listed immigration reform among five executive actions he plans to take on his first day in office. They include asking the Department of Labor to investigate “all abuses of the visa programmes that undercut the American worker.” LONDON: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II had a narrow escape during a late night walk in her palace gardens when one of her guardsmen “nearly shot” her thinking it was an intruder, a media report claimed on Thursday.
The 90-year-old monarch was known for her fondness of long walks in the garden in the past and often when she struggled to sleep she decided to take a stroll.
However, on one occasion, a former guardsman revealed how he was caught unawares at 3 am at Buckingham Palace in London.
“Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you,” the anonymous guard is reported to have said.
According to ‘The Times’ diary column, the Queen replied in her well-known witty vein: “That’s quite all right.
“Next time I’ll ring through beforehand so you don’t have to shoot me.”
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the anecdote.
It is believed the incident
It is believed that the incident occurred several years ago, when she was walking in the palace garden and a guard mistook her as an intruder. The Queen is now unlikely to be found on similar walks late in the night due to her age
occurred several years ago and that the Queen is now unlikely to be found on similar walks late in the night due to her age.
In 2013, her younger son Prince Andrew was mistaken for an intruder and confronted by armed police as he walked in the Buckingham Palace garden.
Police said no weapons were drawn but it issued an apology to the prince.
Buckingham Palace has been the subject of several security breaches in recent years.
In August 2016, a 22-yearold man was arrested at 4 am after he climbed over a security fence and was being spotted by officers monitoring CCTV.
And in May 2016, 41-yearold Denis Hennessy climbed over barbed wire and roamed freely in the palace grounds for 10 minutes while the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew were in residence, before the intruder was arrested.
In 2013, a man scaled the fence and was found after 10 pm in one of the State Rooms.
None of the royals were in residence at the time.
The Queen is usually at Buckingham Palace from Monday to Friday, with weekends spent at Windsor Castle.
She is once believed to have chatted away with a group of tourists, who had not recognised her during a paid visit to see parts of Buckingham Palace.
The Queen did not want to blow her cover, so she played along.