High-Skill Visa Program Getting Overhaul by Trump Administration

The Department of Homeland Security is planning to issue regulations next year to rework H-1B visas, a move that could completely upend how the program works.

In the fall 2017 regulatory agenda issued Dec. 14, the DHS said it plans to propose a change in the definition of “specialty occupation,” the type of occupation the temporary work visas cover. Traditionally, a specialty occupation has been understood as one that requires a bachelor’s degree.

The proposed change is meant “to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B program,” the DHS said. The proposed rule ...