As the Americans have been facing staggeringly high unemployment levels as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, US President Trump has considered barring the issuance of new employment visas, including the H-1B.

According to a report by an International news agency, the proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued. "That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected," the report mentioned. Even as the unemployment crisis has resulted in the loss of jobs of thousands of Indian employees in the US, the decision by the Trump administration to suspend work visas at this point could impact the lives of thousands of IT professionals. The White House, however, has stated that the administration has several options open currently and that no final decision has been made as yet. "The administration is currently evaluating a wide range of options, formulated by career experts, to protect American workers and job seekers especially disadvantaged and underserved citizens - but no decisions of any kind have been made," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley reportedly said in a statement. In addition to the H-1B visas, the suspension could apply to the H-2B visa for short-term seasonal workers, the J-1 visa for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and the L-1 visa for internal company transfers, the financial report further added.

The US Chambers of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue has written a letter to Trump on Thursday professing his concern over Trump's move to temporarily suspend employment visas. "As the economy rebounds, American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs. To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world," Donohue reportedly wrote in his letter to Trump. "Policies that would, for example, impose wide-ranging bans on the entry of nonimmigrant workers or impose burdensome new regulatory requirements on businesses that employ foreign nationals would undermine that access to talent and in the process, undercut our economy's ability to grow and create jobs," the CEO further added.