Higher ed groups push for colleges to be exempt from $100K H-1B visa fee

高等教育团体推动大学免除10万美元H-1B的签证费

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Nearly three dozen higher education organizations are urging U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to exempt colleges from the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions, arguing in an Oct. 23 letter that these employees do work “crucial to the U.S. economy.”

近三十二个高等教育组织敦促美国国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆免除大学H-1B签证申请的100,000美元新费用，并在10月23日的一封信中称，这些员工所做的工作 “对美国经济很重要”。

President Donald Trump caught the higher education sector by surprise when he announced the large fee last month. Large research universities heavily rely on the H-1B visa program to hire international scholars.

唐纳德·特朗普总统上个月宣布高额收费高等教育部门大吃一惊。大型研究型大学严重依赖H-1B签证计划来聘请国际学者。

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said in the Thursday letter that colleges’ H-1B workers educate domestic students for “high-demand occupations, conduct essential research, provide critical patient care, and support the core infrastructure of our universities.”

美国教育委员会主席Ted Mitchell 在她周四的信中说，大学的H-1B工作者教育国内学生从事 “高需求职业，做必要的研究，提供关键的病人护理，支持我们大学的核心基础设施”。

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Trump shocked the higher ed world sector on Sept. 19 when he declared that new petitions for H-1B visas must come with a $100,000 payment to be processed. Yet colleges were left unsure which of their workers would be impacted amid scant details on the new policy and mixed messages from administration officials. The federal government is facing at least two lawsuits over the fee.

特朗普在9月19日震惊了高等教育世界部门，他宣布新的H-1B签证申请必须支付100,000美元。然而，由于新政策的细节不足以及政府官员的信息不一，大学不确定哪些工人会受到影响。联邦政府至少面临两项有关费用的诉讼。

In the days and weeks since the fee was announced, the Trump administration has released additional information about the new policy. Just last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released guidance that said the new fee wouldn’t apply to visa holders inside the country who are requesting a change of status or extension of stay — potentially exempting international students who recently graduated and have H1-B sponsorship.

在宣布收费后的几天和几周内，特朗普政府发布了有关新政策的更多信息。上周，美国公民及移民服务局发布了指导意见，称新费用不适用于要求改变身份或延长逗留期限的国内签证持有人，所以可能免除最近毕业并H1-B赞助的国际学生。

Mitchell’s letter asked Noem to confirm that the new USCIS guidance includes those on F-1 or J-1 visas — both of which cover international students — converting to H-1B status. He also asked if the government would return the $100,000 fee if a petition is denied and how USCIS would process H-1B applications in a timely manner given the new requirements.

Mitchell的信要求Noem确认新的USCIS指南包括F-1或J-1签证-两者都涵盖国际学生-转换为H-1B身份。他还询问了如果申请被拒绝，政府是否会退还100,000美元的费用，以及在新的要求下，移民局会如何处理新的H-1B申请。

The letter points out that the proclamation included language that allows DHS to issue exemptions for workers if government officials deem hiring them is in the nation’s interest and doesn’t pose a security risk.

这封信指出，该公告包含的语言允许国土安全部在政府官员认为雇用工人符合国家利益且不构成安全风险的情况下对工人发放豁免。

“The continuing education of our postsecondary students is in the national interest of the United States,” Mitchell wrote.

“我们的大专学生的继续教育符合美国的国家利益，” 米切尔写道。

He cited recent CUPA-HR data showing that 7 in 10 faculty on H-1B visas in the U.S. are in tenured or tenure-track positions, with the largest shares in business, engineering and health disciplines.

他引用了最近的CUPA-HR数据显示，在美国，拥有H-1B签证的10名教师中有7名处于终身或终身职位，在商业，工程和健康学科中所占份额最大。

Mitchell contended that exempting colleges from the new fee would be similar to the higher education sector’s current exemption from the cap on H-1B visas, which are awarded via a lottery process. The cap limits annual H-1B visa awards to 65,000 workers, with an additional 20,000 for international students who finished U.S. graduate programs.

米切尔认为，免除大学的新费用将类似于高等教育部门目前免除H-1B签证的上限，这是通过抽签颁发的。该上限将年度H-1B签证奖励限制在65,000名工人，并为完成美国研究生课程的国际学生提供额外20,000。

Congress exempted higher education from the cap in recognition “of the special role that institutions of higher education play in hiring H-1Bs on our campuses,” Mitchell wrote.

国会将高等教育从cap中豁免，以表彰 “高等教育机构在我们校园雇用H-1Bs方面发挥的特殊作用，” 米切尔写道。

ACE also took issue with a recent proposal that would change how the lottery system works. Under the new proposal from USCIS, visas for higher-wage applicants would be given more priority.

ACE还对最近的一项提案提出了质疑，这一提案将改变彩票系统的工作方式。根据USCIS的新提案，高薪申请人的签证拥有更多优先权。

Mitchell urged USCIS to withdraw the rule in a public comment submitted Friday on behalf of ACE and 19 other higher education groups. He argued the change would harm international enrollment, as foreign students entering the workforce after completing their degrees at U.S. institutions would have much lower access to the H-1B visa program.

米切尔敦促USCIS在周五代表ACE和其他19个高等教育团体提交的公开评论中撤回该规则。他认为，这一变化将减少国际入学人数，因为外国学生在美国机构完成学位后进入劳动力市场，获得H-1B签证计划的机会要低得多。

“A central reason for the excellence of our postsecondary institutions is their ability to attract and enroll talented, motivated, and curious students, whether born in this country or abroad,” Mitchell wrote. “This proposed rule will limit the ability of our institutions to recruit and retain these students, especially those that wish to remain in the United States.”

“我们高等教育机构做得好的一个主要原因是他们能够吸引和招收有才能，有动力和保持好奇的学生，无论是本土还是国外的，” 米切尔写道。“这项拟议的规则将限制我们的机构招募和留住这些学生的能力，特别是那些希望留在美国的学生。