As Trump tightens H1-B visa rules, US companies prefer Americans to fill jobs

The H1-B category allows US companies to employ non-immigrants in speciality occupations (Representational Image)

Tougher visa regulations imposed by the Trump administration have limited the job prospects for international students who have graduated from US business schools. In the first half of the year, there has been a 19 per cent increase in companies seeking to employ only candidates with US citizenship or work authorization from the federal government, according to a report in The Washington Post, which analysed 25 million job advertisements. The report further states that in 2018, only 47 per cent of US companies have advertised positions accepting international candidates, a drop from 55 per cent in 2017.

This comes in the wake of the Trump administration tightening the screws on H1-B visa applications. The H1-B category allows US companies to employ non-immigrants in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. It is valid for a period of three years and can be extended.

The report also notes that while there is a rise in international students entering the US for graduate courses, there is a dip in students receiving work permits. The number of H1-B visas approved in the fiscal year ending September 2017 was 108,101 against the 114,503 in the previous year. For masters degree holders in specific, this number fell to 45,405 from 52,002 in the same period.

The highest number of H1-B visa applicants are Indians, according to news agency PTI. Between 2007 and 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 2.2 million petitions from Indians. China comes second with 301,000 H1-B petitions in the same period.