Trump Signed ‘Buy American, Hire American’ Executive Order

President Donald Trump during a visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin signed an executive order which seeks to restrict visas used by high-tech companies. The order is an attempt to fulfill his campaign promise of ‘America First’.

The new executive order ‘Buy American‘ will direct Government agencies to use more American products in government contracts and the goal for ‘Hire Americans‘ will protect U.S workers. It calls for a review of H-1B visa program for skilled workers and reforms the program.

“Right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries,” Trump said

“Right now H-1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery and that’s wrong. Instead, they should be given to most skilled and highest paid applicants and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans,” Trump said during a visit to a tool manufacturing company in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The order will call for strict enforcement of all laws governing entry to the USA of labor from abroad. He said the order is a way to “restore the American dream”. The order allows admitting of 85,000 foreign workers annually, who are in High tech, science, industrial and medical fields, with the directive on the Departments of Justice, Labor, Homeland Security and State to crack down on any abuse in the H-1B visas and to protect U.S workers.

Companies who are applying for H-1B visas for Indians are Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Cognizant Tech Solutions Corp. Tata Consultancy Services is India’s top IT service firm, while Infosys is India’s second IT service firm and changes in the H-1B visas means a lot for this Indian Tech.

Almost all the IT firms have been preparing for the changes in H-1B since Donald Trump came as president, India is a house of $150-billion IT outsourcing industry. Many are bracing them self since last year like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have applied for only 4,000 new US visas in 2016.

Restricting the H-1B visas is a big blow to Indian IT companies, as for Indian IT companies have the USA as the biggest area where they get business. and almost all IT companies send their employees to the USA.

Now Top Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro to make fundamental changes in their business strategies, now they have to hire more American workers.

H-1B Visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupation including fields like science, engineering, and information technology, it lasts for 3 years. Each year 85,000 H-1B visas are granted to foreign workers, and almost 70% of all H-1B visas go to Indian Workers.