Washington: A federal judge of the apex court in the US on Thursday blocked the enforcement of a temporary visa ban by the Trump administration on a large number of work permits even after the President exceeded his constitutional authority. The thousands of Indian IT professionals are relieved with this move.
The order issued by US District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California. It applies to members of organizations that filed a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security – the US Chamber of Commerce. The verdict was passed to put hold on visa restrictions that would prevent manufacturers from filling crucial jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed, the National Association of manufacturers said.
Donald Trump had issued an executive order that had put a temporary bar on issuing of new H-1B visas in June. H-1B visas are used by American and Indian technology companies, H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers, J visas for cultural exchanges and L visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations till the end of the year. In his defence, President Trump said that the US needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the IT companies and other US companies opposed the stand of the US president. Hence, they went to court to challenge the administration’s ban on certain visas. “The restrictions undermined the industry at a critical time and conflicted with the law”, said NAM senior vice president and general counsel Linda Kelly. Further added, “We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Today’s decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States’.
Judge White noted in his 25-page order, that the text of Article I and more than two centuries of legislative practice and judicial precedent make clear, the Constitution vests Congress, not the President, with the power to set immigration policy on President exceeding his constitutional authority
H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. It is mostly sought by Indian IT professionals. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.