Amazon speaks out against Trump’s freeze on immigrant work visas

[whohit]Amazon speaks out against Trump’s freeze on immigrant work visas[/whohit]Major tech companies including Amazon decried President Donald Trump’s freeze on a range of immigration work visas Monday, calling it “unbelievably bad policy” that would undermine America’s economic recovery and its competitiveness.

Trump issued a proclamation Monday suspending the issuance of a variety of visas that allow foreigners to work in the US for a limited amount of time. The administration said the suspension, which affects H-1B, H-2B, H-4, J-1, and L-1 visas, was necessary to protect American workers at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has pushed unemployment to its highest level in decades.

The order extends April restrictions that put a 60-day freeze on green cards until the end of the year, and adds the new restrictions covering work visas.

Tech companies rely on H1-B visas in particular to import engineering talent from around the world, helping them maintain Silicon Valley’s competitive edge in an increasingly global market. Last year, Google and Amazon were each granted roughly 9,000 H1-B visa applications.

“Preventing high-skilled professionals from entering the country and contributing to America’s economic recovery puts American’s global competitiveness at risk,” an Amazon representative said. “The value of high-skilled visa programs is clear.”

The US has 85,000 “high-skilled” H-1B visa spots open each year.