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Trump's executive order suspending temporary work visas this year slammed as 'bad for innovation'

The order applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas. The restrictions are set to remain in place for the rest of the calendar year and could be extended
UPDATED JUN 23, 2020
Donald Trump (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
Donald Trump (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to suspend the issuance of certain temporary worker visas through the end of 2020, cracking down further on immigration after signing an initial order in April that temporarily suspended the issuance of new green cards, citing the need to protect American jobs amid widespread unemployment during the pandemic.

The order applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas. H-1B visas, common in the tech industry, are used for skilled workers and are the largest visa program of those included in the order as its recipients can stay for multiple years. H-2B visas apply to seasonal workers. H-4 visas are given to spouses of H-1B visa holders. J-1 visas are given to researchers, scholars and other specialized categories while L-1 visas are used for executives transferring to the United States from positions abroad with the same employer. Roughly 300,000 J-1 visa recipients come to the US every year, according to the American Immigration Council.

The restrictions are set to remain in place for the rest of the calendar year and could be extended as well. Many took to social media to express their disappointment over the new executive order. "Immigration has contributed immensely to America's economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today," tweeted Google CEO Sundar Pichai. "Disappointed by today's proclamation — we'll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all," he added.

Andrew Ng, the co-founder of online learning portal, Coursera, tweeted, "The suspension of the H1B visa program is bad for the US, bad for innovation, and will shatter dreams and disrupt lives. As a former H1B visa holder, my heart goes out to all the families affected." A user tweeted, "Suspending H1B visas is so messed up on every level. This will inflict needless, immense pain on so many people – and only benefit countries like Canada with open visas + growing tech industry."

Another user wrote, "The ban of H1b visas is a serious blow to U.S. biomedical science and STEM in general. It looks like postdocs on J-1s will be exempt from the ban, which is a huge relief regarding the people in my lab and the science we do. But this EO is still garbage." The user continued, "These kind of ad hoc immigration bans cause a huge amount of stress and anxiety, and destroy lives and careers. And the crime of these people getting banned? Wanting to engage in scientific discovery and innovation in this country." 

A user tweeted, "It’s pretty incredible how many of the smartest people in Silicon Valley came here on H1B visas. We’re probably talking millions of jobs created. The world is not zero-sum." Another wrote, "We are going to need entrepreneurship, startups, and skilled creative people more than ever to recover from this pandemic. Banning H1B visas might be the single most economically illiterate thing this administration has done yet."

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