Don't 'misuse' H-1B visas: US issues stern warning to firms

The Trump administration has issued a stern warning to companies not to discriminate against American workers by "misusing" the H-1B work visas programme, the most sought after by Indian IT firms and professionals.

"The Justice Department will not tolerate employers misusing the H-1B visa process to discriminate against US workers," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Civil Rights Division.

The warning came as the government began accepting employers' H-1B visa petitions for the next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2017. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) yesterday also announced multiple measures to "deter and detect" what it described as "fraud and abuse" of the H-1B work visas.

The USCIS announcement indicated that the US government is going to be tough and stringent in approval of H-1B visas this year.

The USCIS has a Congressional mandate to issue 65,000 H-1B visas in general category.