U.S Government Data Reject the Need for New H-1B Rules

According to a Forbes report, a new government report denies the claim made by the U.S president Donald Trump that unemployment in the country far exceeds the estimated figure and there need a new visa rule to overcome this issue. After the announcement being made, the Trump administration had announced new restrictions on H-1B non immigrant visa programme.

However, a new study reveals that the government’s own data do not justify the claims made in the draft rules,as according to an analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “the U.S. unemployment rate for individuals in computer occupations stood at 3.5% in September 2020, not changed significantly from the 3% unemployment rate in January 2020 (before the pandemic spread in the U.S.).”

Low Unemployment Rate in Computer Occupations: “The U.S. unemployment rate for individuals in computer occupations stood at 3.5% in September 2020, not changed significantly from the 3% unemployment rate in January 2020 (before the pandemic spread in the U.S.),” according to an analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). “A similar measure of the U.S. unemployment rate in computer and mathematical occupations, which appears on the BLS website, also found a rate of 3% in January 2020 and 3.5% in September 2020. The rates are well below the unemployment rate of 7.8% for non-computer occupations.”

Approximately two-thirds of H-1B visa holders work in computer-related occupations, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but the DHS and DOL rules spend much time citing the nation’s overall unemployment rate in 2020 rather than focusing on the more relevant computer occupations, the Forbes report said.

The interim final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, less than four weeks ahead of the US presidential election, will narrow the definition of specialty occupation as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system.

It will also require companies to make real offers to real employees, by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American workers. And finally, the new rules would enhance the department’s ability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during and after an H1-B petition is approved.