United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a merit-based immigration system would save tax-payers’ money and increase workers’ wages. In his first address to the Congress, Trump said the system had succeeded in countries like Canada and Australia. The move is expected to benefit professionals from India, PTI said.

Trump said, “It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon,” CNBC reported.

“According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs America’s taxpayers many billions of dollars a year,” the president said.

Since his election campaign days, Trump had vowed to increase job opportunities for Americans. He did not make any specific statement on H-1B work visas though.

At least 97 companies, including Google and Uber, had signed a joint legal briefing against Trump’s Executive Order restricting people from entering the country. A United States appeals court had stayed the ban.

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and several other IT companies seek a considerable number of H-1B visas to send Indian workers to the US. IT stocks in Indian markets took a hit since news emerged that the High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act, 2017, had been introduced in the US House of Representatives, calling for more than doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders.