Trump Admin To Stop Giving Permits To Spouses Of High-Skilled Immigrants

Satellite manufacturing technician Debbie Wardhaugh works at the offices of US satellite firm Spire Global in Glasgow, south-west Scotland, on April 17, 2018. - A shipbuilding hub since the days of the British empire... Satellite manufacturing technician Debbie Wardhaugh works at the offices of US satellite firm Spire Global in Glasgow, south-west Scotland, on April 17, 2018. - A shipbuilding hub since the days of the British empire, the Scottish city of Glasgow is now reaching for the stars with a growing space satellite industry. Glasgow builds more satellites than any city outside of the United States, according to space industry experts, specialising in small "CubeSats" that can be used for anything from weather forecasting to global positioning. Spire's lead engineer Joel Spark said the company had benefited from a high-skilled workforce already in place from the days of the DotCom boom when the area was known as "Silicon Glen". (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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The Trump administration is putting into effect its plan to stop giving work permits to spouses of high-skilled visa holders, likely to be a tremendous blow to the tech industry.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this would affect about 100,000 workers, most of whom live in California.

The Obama administration originally set up the H-4 permit program to help attract high-skilled workers from places like India, and to help their families stay in America with them while waiting to get their green cards.

Repealing the program will split apart families already settled in the U.S. and likely deter highly educated immigrants from coming and doing critical work in the tech industry.

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