US President Donald Trump will prolong a ban on US employment permits to year-end and broaden it to include H1-B visas used widely in the tech industry, the White House said Monday. A senior administration official told journalists that the move would free up 525,000 jobs, makin a dent in the high unemployment rate caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "President Trump is focused on getting Americans back to work as quickly as possible," the official said, on condition of anonymity. pmh/ec