贸易集团:日本批准新的“绿卡”规则

 

Japan is reportedly planning to approve new visa rules to attract more foreign workers.

The proposed change comes as the United States considers new immigration reforms to limit the number of foreign workers it accepts.

The new rules would speed up the process for temporary workers to get permanent residency, according to multiple reports quoting officials from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

If the government plan is approved, it would allow skilled foreign workers in Japan to receive permanent residency within 1-2 years, according to JETRO Chief Director General Kazuya Nakajo.

Currently, Japan’s points-based temporary worker program requires visa holders¹ to wait five years before applying for permanent residency.

JETRO Executive Vice² President Shigeki Maeda also spoke³ about the planned changes at a recent trade event in India. “We are trying to make the Japanese business environment better for foreign companies through introducing a new type of green card system,” he was quoted as saying.

U.S. considers changes in H-1B visa program

The new Japanese proposal comes as U.S. officials consider changing its H-1B visa program.

The H-1B visa allows foreign workers to stay in the U.S. for up to six years. After a maximum stay of six years, H-1B visa holders can either return to their home country or apply for permanent U.S. residency, also known as a “green card.”

The program is designed to employ foreign workers in jobs requiring “specialized knowledge,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Many of the jobs are filled by scientists, engineers and computer programmers.

The American technology industry has relied on H-1B visas to bring in skilled workers that it says are difficult to find in the U.S. Workers cannot apply for an H-1B visa on their own. The company that wants to employ them must do so.

The number of H-1B visas is limited to a total of 85,000 per year. A lottery⁴ is held to choose which applicants⁵ get approved. Last year, there were more than 200,000 requests for H-1B visas.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump⁶ criticized visa programs that allow U.S. employers to bring in skilled foreign workers. He promised to make changes to see that more of those jobs go to Americans, not foreigners.

A draft of an executive order has reportedly been prepared for President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press. The draft calls for a nine-month government study to look at current visa programs, including the H-1B program.

A government report will then be issued about ways U.S. workers are harmed by working visas such as the H-1B, AP reported. It will also reportedly seek ways to make sure H-1B visas end up going to “the best and the brightest” people.

Trump’s new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has also voiced opposition⁷ to the current H-1B program. And the U.S. Congress also has proposed legislation to reform the program.

On Friday in Washington, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to discuss trade and other issues at the White House. It will be the second meeting for the two leaders. Trump will also host Abe over the weekend for a round of golf near the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Words in This Story

residency – n. legal permission to live in a place

green card – n. official document allowing a foreign to permanently⁸ live and work in the United States

lottery – n. system used to decide who gets something by choosing names or numbers by chance

host – v. to be the person in charge of entertaining guests

1 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

5 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。