Trump US work visa ban loses firms $100 billion report says

Comments by Sanwar Ali:

The automatic assumption by Trump that immigration is bad is wrong.  Many would say that Donald Trump is a bit of a hypocrite.  Trump’s grandparents on his father's side were German immigrants.  Trump’s mother was a poor Scottish immigrant.  His grandfather on his father’s side arrived as a poor German immigrant.  All his wives were immigrants.  Many studies have shown that immigration benefits the US economically.

A new report says that Trump’s skilled US work visa ban has cost companies $100 billion. The ban has reportedly blocked more than 200,000 people from coming to the US, costing American firms billions the report concludes. Trump’s work visa ban came into effect on June 22 and is set to run until the end of 2020.

The visa ban has mainly affected America’s tech industry, which relies heavily on skilled workers entering the US on H1B and L1 visas. The US President’s executive order also prevents international firms with offices based in the US from transferring staff to America for months or years.

Meanwhile the spouses of foreign nationals already working in the US have also been denied entry under the ban.

$100 billion in losses 

According to research group, Brookings, Trump’s temporary closure of US work visa categories has cost Fortune 500 companies $100 billion in losses based on their valuation prior to the visa ban.

Following the visa ban, Brookings’ research claims that the market value of firms in their sample dropped by 0.45 percent. The report states: “Our results are particularly pronounced for firms that had maintained or increased their reliance on skilled immigrant workers over the prior years.”

“While there may be such long-run adjustments that firms can make when access to skilled labor supply is abruptly constrained, we document that there is a significant short-run negative impact,” the report added.

The report went on to say that the executive order has ‘plausibly eroded company valuations amounting to 100 billion dollars.’

Earlier this month, Workpermit.com reported that the Trump administration had further tightened H1B visa rules by increasing the salary threshold that employers must pay foreign workers.

Protecting American workers

Trump’s US work visa ban was introduced under the guise of ‘protecting American workers’ amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 40 million Americans out of work. However, sceptics insist that the ban was enforced in the interests of furthering Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric in election year.

While the executive order may go some way in giving Americans more opportunities to find work, the economic cost could be devastating, especially when another recent study shows that immigrants create more jobs than Americans. Theoretically, if anyone is going to aid the US economic recovery from the devastation of COVID-19, it’s foreign nationals.

However, the US Deputy Secretary of Labor, Patrick Pizzella, said: “With millions of Americans looking for work, and as the economy continues its recovery, immediate action is needed to guard against the risk lower-cost foreign labor can pose to the well-being of US. Workers.”

Meanwhile, although H1B visa rules were further tightened recently, a California judge has since partially lifted restrictions on the US H1B, L1 and J1 visa categories.

Judge Jeffery White ruled that ‘Trump’s June proclamation went beyond the president's authority and questioned his evaluation of the economic impact that H, L, and J visa workers have on the unemployment issue in the United States.’

Workpermit.com can help with US employment-based visas

If you would like to apply for a US work visa – including L1 visas, E2 visas, O1 visas and H1B visas - Workpermit.com can help. 

Workpermit.com is a specialist visa services firm with over thirty years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Contact us for further details.  You can also telephone 0344 991 9222.