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Immigration lawyers are urging their foreign clients who work in tech and are in the US on visas to return to the country before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. The warning comes as the Trump administration is expected to include several executive orders that will limit access to several types of work visas, particularly those that are common in the tech industry. According to the New York Post, Mr Trump has also vowed to reinstate his ban on people entering the country from Muslim-majority countries.
So in light of this, US-based immigration lawyers have asked foreign tech workers on visas to return to the country before Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025. "Storm is coming. And this time, we know exactly what it's going to bring," Texas-based immigration lawyer Jason Finkelman told Business Insider.
"I think it's possible that Trump may attempt to impose travel bans from certain countries just as he did when he initially tried to implement travel restrictions. While I think travel bans will likely face challenges in the courts, it may lead to issues of US employers being restricted from hiring and retaining the foreign talent they need for their operations," Mr Finkelman said.
A California-based lawyer is also urging her clients who are travelling overseas to return to the country in anticipation of a possible travel ban. Separately, another lawyer wondered whether the Trump administration's new travel ban could include China. "The wildcard for me is what happens to China," the lawyer told the outlet.
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Techies in the US are now waiting to see what Mr Trump will do with the H1-B visa, which allows companies to hire immigrants for speciality roles that require certain skills. Often, an H-1B visa is the only way a high-skilled foreign national can work long-term in the US. Critics say that an H-1B visa allows companies to pay lower wages with fewer protections.
Notably, in Trump's first term, the number of applications for H-1B visas that were denied surged. During his presidency, he also issued his "Buy American and Hire American" executive order, directing cabinet members to suggest reforms to ensure that business visas were only awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants in a bid to protect American workers.