The proclamation by President Donald J. Trump suspending the entry of foreign workers without a payment sent shock waves through the contracting community in the U.S. mainland and in Guam.
Many Guam companies rely on H-1B skilled workers due to the lack of skilled labor for the slew of contracts now in play for the island and the Micronesian region.
The Sept. 19 proclamation requires payment of $100,000 for each new application. Initially, many contractors advised foreign employees not to leave the U.S. or Guam or had them returning from their country of origin immediately, according to Journal sources. In addition, H1s were advised against travel until the U.S. government provides additional information.
Also to come is “rulemaking to revise the prevailing wage levels for the H-1B program,” with the Department of Labor and Homeland Security “to issue joint guidance for verification, enforcement, audits and penalties.”
According to the White House, the proclamation allows “case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest.”
However, there currently is no exemption for Guam. The office of James C. Moylan, Guam’s delegate to Congress said on Sept. 21, CHamoru Standard Time, it is “awaiting formal responses on how this change may affect Guam, including health care professionals and other critical workers currently on-island.”
Typically, contractors with a contract underway can apply for a change order or a request for equitable adjustment, which allows the contractor to add unforeseen expenses to the contract. It is unclear if this is feasible for this situation.
Guam has about 5,000 foreign workers, but how many of those are H-1Bs and how many are H-2Bs is not yet clear either. mbj
