Trump Administration Sued Over New H-1B Rules

On October 6th, the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security, without any prior notice, announced rules that hugely impact the H-1B visa. As a result of the Department of Labor’s rule, the prevailing wage (minimum wage paid to H-1B workers) skyrocketed.

On the other hand, the Department of Homeland Security rules that H-1B workers will have to work at occupations that directly relate to their degree of bachelor or higher level. The rule from DHS also limits the period of validity of third-party sites H-1B visas to a maximum of a year, compared to the previous three years.

These rules disqualify many that used to be able to apply to H-1 B’s. At the same time, they also make many companies no longer capable of hiring H-1B workers. It is an unprecedentedly difficult time for H-1B holders and their employers.

Knowing these rules will broadly impact them, many organizations and universities have filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration. If the plaintiffs win, the H-1B criteria will revert to how they were before the new rules. These lawsuits will determine the fate of countless foreign workers and the U.S. economy.

Who Are the Plaintiffs?

ITServe Alliance is the largest association of Information Technology Solutions & Services organizations in the U.S., representing over 1,200 member companies. Before this lawsuit, the ITServe Alliance has sued USCIS over H-1B policies. The lawsuit ended with a victory of the alliance. The alliance is suing the U.S. Department of Labor(DoL) in the current lawsuit. The alliance has filed the lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The alliance sues the Department of Labor for failing to comply with the Federal Administrative Procedure Act by drastically raising prevailing wage levels without prior notice. The department also violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating because of factors including national origins.

Aside from the ITServe Alliance, various universities and organizations have also filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other universities/organizations are suing the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security.Plaintiffs have stated that the Department of Labor rule will impose a total of $20 billion extra spendings on employers of H-1B workers, thereby claiming that the rise in prevailing wages is not to protect American workers but to damage the H-1B program.

Taking a Closer Look at the New Rules

The new rules come from two administrations. The DoL rule skyrockets the prevailing wages immediately after the rule was announced. Prevailing wages of some occupations have risen as much as 40%.

For Instance:

Emilia is an international student. She works in America as an H-1B holder after she graduated from an American university. Her wage is $80,000, which surpasses the former prevailing wage for her occupation, which is $62,760. After the new rules were announced, her wage would have to increase to $208,000 to legally stay in her current position as an H-1B worker.

The purpose of this rule is to discourage employers from hiring international staff to protect the American workforce. The rest of the rules come from the Department of Homeland Security, which rules that H-1B workers can only work at occupations that relate directly to his/her academic degrees.

DHS has also shortened the period of validity of H-1B visas held by workers at third-party sites. The original rules granted terms of three years. This will cost the employees and employers considerable amounts of time and energy since they will have to renew their visas every year.

Why These Organizations are Against the New Rules

The impact on workers made by the new rules are clear, yet many industries will also suffer from these rules. H-1B workers must earn a wage above the prevailing wage, but factors may push employers to hire new staff and offer them higher salaries. If most of these new workers happen to be U.S. citizens, prevailing wages will rise, surpassing some H-1B workers’ wages.

Consequently, employers will have to raise wages for more employers.

This will increase companies’ financial burdens, forcing them to lay off more workers (American or international). As a result, the unemployment rate will rise accordingly, while the economy slumps even more severely. These rules will also make the I.T. industry suffer badly.

In recent years, foreign workers have made indispensable contributions to the U.S. I.T. industries, and an increasing amount of foreign workers are choosing to work in this industry. After the new rules, employers will have to lay off workers due to the unaffordable high prevailing wages. To lower the costs, they will avoid choosing U.S. citizen workers and relocate their operations overseas. This creates an incredibly ironic situation — the number of jobs available to Americans become even less.

Universities are also unhappy with such rules. International students have noticed how unwelcoming the country is to them. In the end, not everyone is lucky enough to find a job that pays $208,000 a year right after they graduate. It is expected to see many international students choosing countries with friendlier policies over the U.S. Many U.S. universities will lose a good portion of their international students, who generally pay more tuition than American students.

To avoid these consequences, many universities and organizations are trying to stop the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security with lawsuits. It is unknown if these rules will remain valid after all relating lawsuits are settled. However, there is no question that they are detrimental to both the U.S. economy and foreign workers.

One of the “secret ingredients” to the U.S. economy’s success has always been talented workers that come from all over the world. Many of them come to the country with hopes of building a future here. The innovations and leadership they bring and their businesses have made immense contributions to the U.S. economy. If the H-1B policies keep tightening as currently, these workers will, for sure, be lost. This creates an even more difficult situation for the economy to recover after the pandemic.

 

H-1B新规出现转机？多个联盟及美国多所大学将特朗普政府告上法庭

许多小伙伴们大概对两周前移民局新搞出的“幺蛾子”已经有了或多或少的了解。10月6日，在完全没有事先通知的情况下，特朗普政府宣布将会把H-1B签证持有者的工资标准大幅提高。不仅如此，申请人的专业与工作对口程度也会被更严格地审查。第三方公司雇佣的外籍员工也会被缩短H-1B有效时长。

这意味许多原本可以符合H-1B要求的申请人被直接出局，也让更多的公司不再有能力雇佣H-1B签证员工。可以说现在是史上H-1B前景最令人堪忧的时刻。

但就在此时，几个公司联盟，组织，和几所美国大学就这些规定对特朗普政府发起了挑战。如果原告胜诉，H-1B申请将会按照新规之前的标准进行筛选。这些诉讼牵动了无数外籍人员，以及美国经济的命运。

都有谁在和特朗普政府叫板？

作为原告的联盟：IT服务联盟（IT Serve Alliance）是一个由IT服务领域的上千家公司组成的非营利性贸易协会。这个联盟的来头也不小。在这次诉讼之前，IT服务联盟就已经和移民局为了H-1B在法庭上交过锋，最后以联盟胜诉告终。这次和联盟较量的是美国劳工部。目前，IT服务联盟已经向新泽西州联邦地区法院提起诉讼。

IT服务联盟表示劳工部毫无预兆地抬高工资水平要求违反了《联邦行政程序法》。

同时，他们也控告劳工部违反了《移民与国籍法》，因为新的工资标准违反了现有的法定准则。

除了IT服务联盟，各个大学和组织也对特朗普政府展开了攻势。斯坦福大学，加州理工大学，美国制造商协会，美国商会，以及其他大学和组织都对劳工部和国土安全部提出了诉讼。

H-1B新规到底改变了什

H-1B的新规分为两项。一项来自美国劳工部，另一项来自国土安全部。劳工部的规定让H-1B的最低工资标准在10月6日新规颁布后立刻大幅增长。某些行业的工资标准甚至涨了40%。

举个例子：小明是一位中国留学生。毕业后，他在一家美国的公司作为H-1B持有者工作。他的工资是$80,000，远超过新规颁布前对H-1B持有者规定的$62,760。新规发布后小明的工资至少要涨到$208,000才能让他继续合法地作为H-1B持有者在美国工作。

明眼人都懂，这些操作的意图就是让企业无力招收外籍员工，从而把就业机会留给美国公民。

新规的第二项来自国土安全部。申请人必须在与她/他本科或更高学历专业直接相关的岗位工作。国土安全部也缩短了第三方公司雇佣的外籍员工的H-1B有效期。从原本的三年改到了一年。这些员工未来每年都要重新申请签证。这会造成大量的时间和金钱成本。

为什么这些学校/组织都急着阻止新规？

H-1B新规对外籍留美人士的影响肯定是不言而喻。但同时，各行各业也都将受到这些规定制造的压力。按照规定，H-1B持有者的工资要高于其他同等职务人员的平均工资。当市场或其他因素迫使雇主对美国籍新员工发放更高的工资时，新美国籍员工的工资会高于H-1B老员工的工资。为了避免触犯法律，雇主只能全面给更多员工涨薪。这会加重各公司的经济负担，并迫使他们解雇更多员工，不论他们是否是美国公民。

这样一来，美国的失业人口反而更多了。经济状况也更加下滑。

这次的H-1B新规对IT行业造成的打击巨大。近年来，外籍员工给美国的IT行业带来了可观的进步。越来越多的外籍员工投身在IT行业相关的岗位中。H-1B政策一出，许多雇主将会被迫裁员。因为他们没有能力支付高昂的薪水。为了降低成本，他们不会选择雇用美国公民，而是把自己的业务都转移到海外完成。

这会造成一个令人感到讽刺的局面–美国公民的就业机会反而更差了。

美国大学对这些规定也心怀不满。聪明的国际生们当然意识到了政策对自己的不友好。谁能一毕业就找到高薪职位啊？这不明摆着难为我们嘛！预计未来许多留学生会转而去往其他国家留学。毕竟此处不留人，必有留人处。许多美国大学会因此躺枪，失去一大批本来会支付比美国学生更多学费的学生。

为了避免H-1B这些新规给自己带来影响，各个大学和公司联盟都全力以赴地阻止国土安全部和劳工部。H-1B新规继续推行的可能性，现在还是未知数。但这些规定一旦完全落实，必会造成外籍人员和美国经济两败俱伤的局面是肯定的。

美国实现经济增长一直以来的“秘密武器”之一就是优秀的外籍人才。许多外籍人员怀着留在美国发展前途的希望来到美国。他们带来的创新，成立或领导的公司为美国经济做出很大贡献。如果H-1B政策持续收紧，这些外籍人才必定流失到各个其他国家，这对新冠疫情后美国经济的复苏不会有一点好处。

也许到时候，特朗普政府会发现自己搬起石头砸了自己的脚。