Under Trump, There's a New Plan to Crack Down on H-1B Visas, a Popular Tech Company Hiring Tool

On the campaign trail and in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump has advocated an "America first" agenda and vowed to dismantle practices that ship jobs overseas. One of his targets is the H-1B visa program, a popular hiring tool for tech companies.On Monday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new effort to crack down on abuse of the visa program, which is used to hire high-skilled international workers. The government agency plans targeted site visits of companies across the country that are requesting visas or have received visas to hire international workers, according to a news release. It also created a new email address for people to submit tips about alleged H-1B fraud or abuse.The Justice Department echoed similar sentiments in its own statement Monday. Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division warned employers that it "will not tolerate employers misusing the H-1B visa process to discriminate against U.S. workers."The stern warnings came as the federal government began accepting applications to the H-1B program for fiscal year 2017. The federal visa program, which dates back to the 1990s, allows employers to temporarily hire high-skilled or specialized foreign workers for jobs in the U.S. It's been used by well-known tech companies, including Google, Amazon and Microsoft. It's also become popular among consulting companies and IT outsourcing companies, such as Tata Consultancy Services, Mphasis and Infosys.  Continue reading...