Trump considering cuts to au pair work visas: report

The Trump administration is mulling cutting foreign work exchange programs, such as those for au pairs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The report comes after the president’s “Buy American and Hire American” order issued a review of immigration rules and practices in the U.S. in order to protect U.S. workers.
The review includes some programs that are part of the J-1 visa exchange visitor program, such as the summer work travel and au pair programs, but not the educational exchange arm, according to the report.
{mosads} Critics of the visa program say it creates unwarranted competition in the U.S. between foreigners and U.S. citizens, while supporters say it creates a healthy cultural exchange.
While the J-1 visa program was created by a statute, its internal programs, such as those for au pairs, were created by individual administrations and can be ended through executive action.
However, doing away with the exchange programs is not the only option for the Trump administration.
The administration could instead put additional requirements in place for the program’s applicants, the Wall Street Journal reported.
President Trump is seen as a hardliner on immigration and has made “America first” a main pledge of his administration.
If the administration decided to cut the exchange programs, it would be its latest action to tighten immigration rules in the U.S.
Trump teamed up with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) earlier this month to introduce new legislation intended to curb legal immigration to the U.S.
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