The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended the issuance of some work visas in an attempt to secure employment for U.S. citizens.
The selfish measures based on his "America First" policy only damage the national interests. The U.S. government should reconsider the issue as soon as possible.
The suspension of some work visa issuance, which began on June 24, mainly targets H-1B visas for highly skilled jobs, such as information technology engineers, L visas for corporate expatriates and others, and J visas for researchers and trainees. The suspension will continue through the end of this year and will be extended if deemed necessary.
In the United States, the spread of the novel coronavirus has caused an increase in the number of jobless people, raising public discontent.
In April, Trump stopped accepting foreigners seeking permanent residency (green cards). The Trump administration expects that the freeze on green cards together with the visa issuance suspension will create about 520,000 jobs.
Trump apparently wants to appeal to his supporters for the presidential election in November, but the suspension will not necessarily lead to an increase in employment as he hopes.
Most H-1B visas are for software engineers and require a high level of competence. It is difficult for the unemployed to quickly replace them. Multinational enterprises manage human resources in consideration of global placement and are unlikely to replace their expats with local workers.
It is difficult to understand why the U.S. government, without grasping this actual state of affairs, believes that if it stops issuing the visas, employment will recover.
Rather, there are grave concerns that the visa issuance suspension will hinder the improvement of U.S. companies' competitiveness and technological innovation.
Excellent foreign engineers have contributed to the advancement of U.S. IT companies such as the foursome known as GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon). Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook expressed his deep disappointment, saying that immigrants are indispensable for the nation's prosperity.
The IT industry is not alone. The U.S. National Association of Manufacturers and other organizations have also criticized that the move would work against growth and deprive the country of job creation opportunities. Trump should listen sincerely to the voices of companies.
The damage will also extend to Japanese companies. According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) of 961 Japanese companies, the number of companies that will be affected, such as on future transfers of employees, is 308, and that of expats who will be affected is more than 1,400.
There have been reports of cases in which the dispatch of young engineers was postponed, and cases in which projects were delayed as personnel to establish production lines cannot be transferred.
An automobile-related company has found it difficult to maintain its quality control because local employees alone cannot communicate well with their business partners in Japan.
Many Japanese companies have contributed to the development of the U.S. economy and also have created jobs. The Japanese government must highlight these points and strongly urge the U.S. government to review the visa restrictions.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on July 17, 2020.
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