Trump's buyout may increase H-1B visa delays at USCIS
The Trump administration's overhaul of government jobs and operations will affect H-1B processing for employers. Slowdowns and extra paperwork seem likely.
President Donald Trump's buyout offer sent this week to federal employees excludes positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, but not U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees. The USCIS is not a law enforcement agency, but it does process work visas, including H-1B.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment, but Shev Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), said she has learned that some USCIS employees have received offers to resign.
"The impact of reducing the workforce at USCIS will harm the integrity of the immigration system by creating backlogs and delays," Dalal-Dheini said.
Apart from the potential loss of experienced USCIS staff, visa-sponsoring employers may still face processing slowdowns due to other actions by the administration.
In particular, Trump recently issued an executive order tightening visa security and rescinding a Biden-era policy that eased immigration for AI and STEM workers.
Trump's buyout offer to 2 million federal workers may guarantee salaries for eight months, provided these workers decide by Feb. 6 whether to accept it. If they reject it, they could face layoffs. Some lawmakers have questioned Trump's legal authority to guarantee salaries to resigning workers.
In the long term, Trump will likely change the H-1B visa lottery system, but he might do that through legislation in Congress. In his first administration, he proposed a wage-based distribution of the visa lottery.
Beyond long-term visa reforms, employers are concerned about how the administration will handle this year's H-1B process. Immigration experts warn of potential delays and stricter requirements.
More demands for visa evidence
Sarah Schroeder, an immigration attorney at DiRaimondo & Schroeder in New York, said experts expect the same visa adjudication problems faced in Trump's first term.
The process is a lot slower and ends up being more expensive for employers.
Sarah SchroederImmigration attorney, DiRaimondo & Schroeder
Schroeder said the visa process will be more unpredictable. She added that she expects more visa applicants to see demands for additional evidence supporting their applications and delays because of security vetting.
"The process is a lot slower and ends up being more expensive for employers," Schroeder said.
Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship could severely affect H-1B visa holders, who often spend decades on temporary status while waiting for green cards -- and whose children may now face additional barriers to citizenship, said ALIA's Dalal-Dheini. A federal court has temporarily blocked Trump's order on birthright citizenship.
A child born without a birthright will need an H-4, dependent visa, which can only be kept until age 21 if the parents are still on H-1B visas. Indian visa holders, in particular, can remain on temporary status for decades due to per-country caps that limit the number of green cards issued annually, Dalal-Dheini said.
The end of birthright citizenship "discourages people from coming here, first of all, and it discourages people from staying here," Dalal-Dheini said.
Trump wants to reform the H-1B program. In his last term, Trump proposed moving from a random H-1B lottery distribution system for the 85,000 annual visas to a wage-based distribution. Under such a system, employers offering the highest salaries are likely to get a visa.
There is bipartisan support in Congress for broader H-1B reforms.
Trump's proposed H-1B lottery reforms reflect a broader push in Congress to reshape the visa program. While he has advocated for a wage-based system favoring high salaries, lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) are calling for wage increases and stricter limits to prioritize specialized labor shortages. Sanders has expressed concerns about companies replacing American workers with visa holders, an issue with bipartisan support in Congress.
Patrick Thibodeau is an editor at large for Informa TechTarget who covers HCM and ERP technologies. He's worked for more than two decades as an enterprise IT reporter.
