H-1B clampdown may extend to US college faculty

Rising anti-immigration sentiment in the US is no longer confined to moves to limit foreign technology workers from entering the country. Lawmakers are now turning their attention to universities, professors and researchers as well.

- Jas Bardia & Devina Sengupta

On 30 September, Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas, introduced the Visa Cap Enforcement Bill in the US Senate, seeking to strip colleges, nonprofits and research institutes of their longstanding exemption from annual H-1B visa limits.

“Colleges and universities shouldn’t get special treatment for bringing in woke and anti-American professors from around the world,” Cotton said in a 30 September statement. “My bill closes these loopholes that universities have abused for far too long.”

“The current US regime is seeking to drastically cut the number of immigrants across the board,” said Russell A. Stamets, partner at Circle of Counsels, a New Delhi-based law firm. “This legislation combines anti-immigration policy with the regime's well-documented attack on higher education in the US. Like it or not, this current regime is pursuing clear goals.”