Donald Trump overhaul of H-1B in works

President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President elect Mike Pence had campaigned that they would control the influx of immigrants into the country and bring jobs back to America. Pic/AFP

New York/San Francisco: President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has been considering ways to revamp the temporary visa program used to bring foreign workers to the US to fill high-skilled jobs, said sources familiar with the discussions.

Possibilities for reforming the distribution of H-1B visas, which are used largely by the tech industry, were discussed at a meeting last month with chief executives of tech companies at Trump Tower, said two sources, who asked not to be named. Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller proposed scrapping the existing lottery system. A possible replacement system would favour visa petitions for jobs that pay the highest salaries.

Companies say they use them to recruit top talent, but a majority of the visas are awarded to outsourcing firms. In 2014, 65 per cent of H-1B petitions approved went to tech workers, mostly from India, according to USCIS.

Trump, who has used H-1B visas to bring in foreign workers sent mixed messages about it on the campaign trail. He assailed it for taking jobs from US workers, but during a Republican debate last March said he was "softening" his position "because we have to have talented people in this country." He later issued a statement saying he would "end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labour program."