President Donald Trump, through amendment of a federal rule, abolishes the lottery system for coveted H-1B visas and prioritises salaries instead. This scraps a vital component of MBA talent pipeline of international students. The change came via a modification in the Federal Register and was not accompanied by an announcement. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials say their motive is to protect American workers and help businesses by establishing more certainty about personnel decisions.
This leaves the Joe Biden administration that takes office in eight days with another immigration issue to contend with. Since the rule is not effective until two months after its publication, well after Biden takes office, it is widely expected that he will rescind it. This idea behind is to take into account the skill set that the respective worker brings to the the company, using salary as an indicator. Employers would pay high wages only to the candidates with unique skill-sets, and such candidates will be given priority for H-1B over others. This would also not undercut the jobs that could be done by US workers with similar skill-sets for similar wages.
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