Trump visa policy requires universities to pay huge fee to hire foreign scholars

U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to boost opportunities for domestic scientists by making it prohibitively expensive for universities to hire international faculty and staff. On 19 September, the president issued a proclamation requiring employers to pay the government $100,000 for every foreign scholar they want to hire. The cost would be added to fees of a few thousand dollars now assessed to sponsor someone from outside the United States under the H-1B visa program. The H-1B program is aimed at enabling U.S. companies to hire foreign-born scientists and engineers for a limited amount of time when they cannot find a suitable U.S.-based candidate. But critics say tech companies use the program to exploit foreign workers by paying them substandard wages and then replacing them with another foreign worker when their visas expire. “The high numbers of relatively low-wage workers in the H-1B program undercut the integrity of the program and are detrimental to American workers’ wages and labor opportunities,” according to Trump’s proclamation. SIGN UP FOR THE AWARD-WINNING SCIENCEADVISER NEWSLETTER The latest news, commentary, and research, free to your inbox daily Many private firms counter that H-1Bs enable them to hire the talent necessary to keep pace in a highly competitive global market. And U.S. universities have long used H-1Bs as a way to employ foreign-born postdocs and faculty. The government holds a lottery to award up to 85,000 H-1B visas annually. However, universities and other nonprofit organizations are exempt from that cap, and elite research universities may employ as many as 200 or more faculty members and other science, technology, engineering, and math workers under the program. But the new fee, which applies to any application submitted after 21 September, could end that practice. “Universities look to hire the best researchers and the best teachers from anywhere in the world,” says Britta Glennon, who studies global innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “But this fee could force them to hire only the best U.S. candidate.” The fee, Glennon adds, could also drive down the flow of foreign students to U.S. graduate programs by dimming their prospects of being hired by a U.S. university or company after completing their Ph.D. (Most H-1Bs are issued to someone already in the United States.) Advertisement The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has warned the new fee will hurt U.S. global competitiveness. “By requiring H-1B workers to pay an exorbitant $100,000 fee to participate, the administration has effectively shut out teachers, non-profits, researchers, rural doctors, clergy, and other professionals who simply can’t afford Trump’s elitist revisioning of the H-1B program,” AILA President Jeff Joseph said in a statement. The group also says the new fee is unconstitutional, because only Congress has the power to set visa fees. “The President has overstepped his executive authority on a proposal that will undermine innovation and prevent businesses both large and small from accessing the talent they need,” Joseph said. Ronil Hira, a political scientist at Howard University, says Trump’s directive is aimed not at universities but at the bottom line of companies he says are exploiting the system. “They will have to decide if they are making enough money off that worker to justify paying the government an additional $100,000,” says Hira, who believes many of the program’s ills can be solved by raising the minimum wage for these workers. “So, Trump is essentially calling their bluff.” Universities will also have to assess whether a foreign scientist adds sufficient value to warrant the additional cost, Hira adds. “If that person brings in millions of dollars in federal grants or boosts the institution’s reputation, then maybe the answer is yes.” However, Glennon doubts that many universities will spring for the additional fee. “I don’t know where that money would come from,” she says. Trump’s initial announcement didn’t make clear whether the fee might also apply to current visa holders. As a result, immigration lawyers and higher education officials over the weekend urged foreign scholars to return immediately if overseas and not to travel outside the country. That’s still good advice, Joseph says. “The initial crisis has passed, but we are still telling people to stay put for now,” he said yesterday during a webinar on the new fee. Joseph called the order “an invitation for litigation,” but said potential litigants will likely want to know more before making a decision about going to court. The order allows the government to waive the new fee for employees working “in the national interest” and who pose no threat to national security. Glennon expects universities to argue their scholars warrant such an exemption, which must be granted by the head of the Department of Homeland Security. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.