Democrats flay Donald Trump for announcing new curbs on H-1B visas sans public scrutiny

WASHINGTON: The Democratic Party has criticised President Donald Trump for announcing “sweeping changes” to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme in decades without public scrutiny, saying it is clearly an attempt to score last-minute political points ahead of the November 3 presidential election.

In a move which will affect thousands of Indian IT professionals, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday announced the interim final rule, which, the Trump administration said, is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners.