Afternoon Coffee: Trump administration overhauls foreign H-1B visa program; U.S. Bank Card integrates with SAP Concur; Sourcing Industry Group to host global procurement summit

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The Trump administration announced an overhaul of the H-1B visa programs that will require employers to pay foreign H-1B workers higher wages, narrow the types of degrees that could qualify applicants and shorten the length of visas for some contract workers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security announced the changes on Tuesday, and it will likely make it tougher to qualify for the visas. Ken Cuccinelli, an official at DHS, said he expects about one-third of H-1B visa applications to be rejected under this new set of rules.

Cuccinelli and Patrick Pizzella, the deputy secretary of labor, said these changes will protect American workers. However, business groups and immigrant advocates criticized the decision, saying the problem doesn’t exist on a broader scale, the article said. The requirements are set to take effect Thursday. The changes will likely target information-technology companies most, the article said.

U.S. Bank Instant Card integrates with SAP Concur

SAP Concur announced this week that U.S. Bank Instant Card transactions will now seamlessly integrate into its solution, Concur Expense. Concur said in a press release that the integration will simplify expense tracking, reporting and reconciliation.

The Instant Card allows employees, contractors or consultants to make business purchases without using their personal credit card or filling out expense reports. Instead, companies can send a virtual corporate card to the Apple Pay or Google Pay wallets of their employees in seconds.

“SAP Concur has a rich history of partnering with issuing banks to provide our joint customers an integrated way of managing their corporate card spend,” said Valerie Blatt, business head and general manager at SAP Concur, in the press release. “The current business environment has compelled companies to increasingly embrace digital transformation. A marked increase in the use of virtual cards, in lieu of traditional plastic corporate cards, is one example. This is why we’re pleased to partner with U.S. Bank to provide a full integration with Instant Card. Customers will now be able to optimize their card program with U.S. Bank, while still having complete visibility into their total employee spend through Concur Expense.”

Sourcing Industry Group will host Global Executive Summit next week

Next week, the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) will kick off its 2020 Global Executive Summit to immerse procurement professionals and executives in the industry trends, best practices, innovations and solutions taking place in today's environment. Thousands of attendees attend the SIG Summit every year, and this year promises to bring more innovative ideas, thought leadership and networking to global leaders in procurement.

The fully digital experience will take place from Oct. 13-15. Keynote speakers and Q&A sessions will cover topics such as cost value, global trends, workflows, data technology, contract negotiation, organizational efficiency, resilient supply chains, sustainability and much more.

Leaders in procurement, supply chain, strategic sourcing, operations, IT, third-party risk, finance, outsourcing, human resources and legal interested in paving the way of a new roadmap for procurement should attend. The event is free for buy-side attendees and sell-side SIG members. Register for the three-day event here.

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