Trump's signing of order to limit, cancel J1 visas irks Israelis
President Trump signs executive order intended to curtail or cancel use of J1 visa, which hitherto has enabled thousands of Israelis to study in the US or work in Jewish summer camps.
President Donald Trump's administration is gearing up to limit, and perhaps even cancel, the use of J1 visas allowing thousands of Israelis and other foreign nationals each year to study or work in the United States.
The administration has started work on a comprehensive scrapping of, or at least a radical curtailing the use of, the J1 visa used by foreign nationals to work in the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. This decision was made following an executive order signed by Trump called "Buy American and Hire American", which was meant to reform the entire visa process in order to protect the interests of American workers.
Simultaneously, the administration amended visa regulations only a few weeks ago to allow American consuls to refuse relocation requests in cases where they believe the process would not benefit the interests of American workers. These new restrictions will nevertheless not apply to foreign nationals who've already started studying in the US in accordance with the J1 visa.
The US embassy in Israel approved more than 4,700 J1 visas in 2016, a large portion of which were granted to Israelis (oftentimes discharged soldiers) who then went on to serve as instructors in Jewish summer camps all across the United States.
The Jewish Agency is aware of the fact that canceling or limiting this particular visa will severely handicap American Jewish communities' summer camps. Indeed, more than 1,200 Israelis leave for these camps every summer.
Different organizations in the US have already launched a campaign aimed at rolling back the potential severity of latest move by Trump’s, who campaigned throughout the election on the pledge to prioritize American workers and open the exit doors to unwanted, illegal or unnecessary foreign laborers. To that end, the organizations are attempting to put pressure on both the White House and legislators.
Canceling the visa will also harm thousands of Israelis coming into the US for academic studies, professional training programs and medical specializations in advanced fields.
The White House is also considering aborting one of the visa's biggest advantages providing the ability of the visa applicant's partner to also work in the US almost without restrictions.
