By: D.K Choudhary
US House of Representatives Introduces H-1B Visa Reform Bill
i. The US House of Representatives has introduced a legislation on January 30, 2017 making it mandatory to raise the minimum salary of the H-1B visa holders to more than double at USD 1,30,000 from the previous USD 60,000.
ii. If the legislation is passed, it would highly impact American companies as they may face difficulty in replacing the American employees with foreign workers including IT professionals from India.
iii. The legislation introduced by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren under the name High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017 envisages market-based allocation of visas to those companies which is willing to pay nearly 200 percent of a wage to its employees.
iv. The legislation aims to find the best talent from around the world so as to supplement the US workforce with talented, highly-paid, and highly-skilled workers and also provide ample opportunity to create job for Americans rather than replacing them with low cost foreign talent.
Ireland became the world’s first country to stop investing in fossil fuels
i. Ireland has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas investments from Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
ii. The bill was passed in the Irish parliament by gaining 53 votes out of 90. It was introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle.
iii. The law regarding fully divest public money from fossil fuels expected in the upcoming month.If the bill is enacted, it would force the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to sell its investment in fossil fuel industries over the next five years.
Ireland:
♦ Capital: Dublin
♦ Currency: Euro
