(Image source from: Wall Street Journal)

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director L Francis Cissna earlier this week has said it would be genuinely good if there was a law to prevent American jobs from going to H-1B visa holders, according to report by Times of India.

The U.S. official made these comments at an event named 'Immigration Newsmaker' in Washington, D.C., on August 15 by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

"I would really love it if Congress would pass a provision prohibiting American workers being replaced by H-1B workers. I could draft it myself, probably right now, you know?" Cissna said during the event, reported the daily.

The report cited USCIS data which suggests that for the fiscal year 2017, a total of 3.65 lakh applicants granted H-1B visas of which 75.6 percent were born in India. Cissna further emphasized that immigration reform should be directed towards ensuring the most qualified people, who the U.S. needs, should get the visas, the report mentioned.

"A simple fix, for example, just banning the ability of employers to fire American workers and replace them with H-1Bs," he added.

It is worth noting that the Donald Trump administration has tightened the rules for granting H-1B visas, a move that has immensely impacted Indian IT (Information Technology) companies and their employees.

In the latest policy that was issued on July 13, the U.S. administration has given exclusive power to officials to reject a visa application if the required 'initial evidence’ wasn’t submitted or the evidence failed to establish eligibility for the visa applied for, according to an earlier ToI report. The new rules will be applicable from September 11 onwards.

The new rules imply that visa applicants are unlikely to get a second chance to submit more documentary evidence to support their eligibility if their application is rejected in the first instance itself. Earlier, officials were not able to reject an application outrightly without giving an opportunity to the applicant to provide more evidence substantiating his eligibility, it said.  

With tightening H-1B rules, meanwhile, IT companies recently slashed their H-1B applications. Tightening of H-1B work visa norms has increased operating costs of Indian IT companies as onsite hiring has increased.

By Sowmya Sangam