US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order that suspends issuing of H-1B and other foreign work visas till the end of the current year, senior administration officials have said.

The decision, which is being described as part of an ‘America-first recovery’ effort, would free up as many as 5,00,000 jobs for American workers, administration officials said.

Hit by the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 40 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last couple of months as the US economy has come to a halt due to the deadly virus that has so far has killed more than 1,20,000 people.

The latest move is an extension of the previous executive signed by Trump that suspended issuing of new Green Cards for the rest of the year.

Monday’s order applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain category of J-1 visas.

The new restrictions, officials said, would not apply to those who have already been issued a visa and are outside the country as well as those visa holders inside the the US.

It also exempts some categories of foreign workers in sectors like health care and research related to coronavirus.