United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday told Fox News that Washington is planning changes to its immigration system, including the H-1B visa programme and green cards.
In an interview to the American news network, Lutnick described the current H-1B visa system as “terrible” and said that he was involved in the process of changing it.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows companies in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers for special occupations.
In the past few years, Indians have constituted the majority of H-1B visa holders. Indians comprised 72.3% of all H-1B visas issued by the US in the financial year 2022-’23.
Lutnick also criticised the green card system, claiming that it benefits the wrong candidates.
“The average American makes $75,000 a year, and the average green card recipient makes $66,000. So we’re taking the bottom quartile. Why are we doing that?” he asked.
A green card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, allows an individual to stay and work permanently in the US.
Lutnick added that the Donald Trump administration plans to introduce a new “gold card” programme, which would grant permanent residency to foreigners who invest $5 million in the US.
In February, Trump had said he wants to replace the existing visa for foreign investors with the gold card, which would also provide a path to citizenship.
On Tuesday, Lutnick claimed that around 2.5 lakh persons are waiting to apply for the gold card and that the programme could generate $1.2 trillion in revenue for the US, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs approved a proposal to prioritise H-1B applicants on the basis of earnings, replacing the current lottery system.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the US must attract skilled workers, describing the H-1B programme as vital for supporting American industries, ANI reported.
During his first term, Trump had tightened rules on H-1B visas, citing “abuse” and “economic strain”.
In 2016, he had criticised the programme saying that it was a way for companies to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees.
Also read: United States’ H-1B visa overhaul might revise wage requirements
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