UNITED STATES VISA AND IMMIGRATION NEWS

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05 July 2021

President Biden Gives Big Boost to U.S. Immigration

The USAFIS Organization reports a significant improvement in the attitudes expressed by foreign nationals regarding U.S. immigration since Joseph Biden became President of the United States. "The change to a more positive attitude about America and U.S. immigration is 'like night and day' now that Joe Biden is in The White House," noted Elsie Crisman, Public Relations Manager at the USAFIS Organization.

"For the past two decades, USAFIS has been helping thousands of people around the world to correctly apply for various immigrant and non-immigrant U.S. visa programs," she explained, "so we are quite familiar with the trends and definitely noticed a big difference between the attitudes indicated by many potential immigrants during the previous four years and the renewed enthusiasm foreign nationals are currently expressing." The USA is the top destination for immigrants, attracting over one million newcomers each year, and it also has the most foreign-born residents of any country (approximately 45 million).

During the 2016 presidential campaign, former U.S. Senator Joe Biden had a pro-immigration platform and he chose as his running mate former U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants, who is the first woman, and first American of Black and Asian heritage, to become Vice-President of the United States. His first day in The White House, January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an order ending the previous president's travel ban for people from several mainly Muslim countries, plus he sent to the Congress his U.S. immigration reform bill which offers a pathway to American citizenship for millions of immigrants and would increase the number of Diversity Visas authorized to be granted through the Green Card Lottery from 55,000 to 80,000 per year.

Furthermore, President Biden signed another order on February 24, 2021, which cancelled the previous president's temporary Green Card suspension. Besides his pro-immigration rhetoric and actions, President Biden's compassion has set a more positive tone in America, while his traditional style of governing and diplomacy has reassured parties at home and abroad.

Thus, the United States is once again viewed by potential immigrants as a country that welcomes newcomers and offers them freedom, equality, economic mobility and the opportunity to live the American Dream. In a sign that the USA is returning to normal, there is once more a major shortage of workers who are needed to fill a record 9.3 million U.S. job vacancies, according to the Department of Labor.

2021 Might Be A Decisive Year For H-1B Visas

The Trump administration was hostile to high-skilled immigration, but the Biden administration may enact the most enduring policy changes to H-1B visas. And the changes might not be positive for employers. A series of decisions loom on regulations that would affect who can receive H-1B petitions, how much employers must pay H-1B professionals and much more.

"H-1B visas are important because they generally represent the only practical way for high-skilled foreign nationals, including international students, to work long-term in the United States and have the chance to become employment-based immigrants and U.S. citizens,” as discussed in a recent Forbes article. “In short, without H-1B visas, nearly everyone from the founders of billion-dollar companies to the people responsible for the vaccines and medical care saving American lives would never have been in the United States."

The number of H-1B visas is small for a country the size of the United States. The 85,000 annual H-1B limit—the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000-exemption for H-1B visa holders with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university—comes to 0.05% of the U.S. labor force. Companies are allowed to file for only 85,000 new H-1B petitions in a year, and about two-thirds, or 56,000 a year, are in computer occupations.

The U.S. job market is strong for individuals who work in computer occupations. The unemployment rate in math and computer occupations was 2.5% in April 2021, below the 3%, lower than in January 2020 before the pandemic began.

Britta Glennon, an assistant professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, found in her research that H-1B restrictions push technology-related jobs out of the United States: "[A]ny policies that are motivated by concerns about the loss of native jobs should consider that policies aimed at reducing immigration have the unintended consequence of encouraging firms to offshore jobs abroad."

4 May 2021

US resumes accepting student visa applications, in China

The U.S. Embassy and consulates in China are scheduled to resume visa appointments for students, starting May 4, after Washington lifted travel restrictions on Monday for students from China and several other countries.

More than 1,000 visa officers will meet students in person to process their applications, William Bistransky, acting consul general at the U.S. Embassy in China, said Friday at a news conference.

On May 4, visa officers at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing will wear sweatshirts with logos of the universities they graduated from to send a signal to Chinese students that Americans "welcome foreign students into our homes or communities or universities," Bistransky said.

By mid-May, the embassy will be able to conduct 2,000 student visa appointments a day, Bistransky said. Within one hour after the U.S. Embassy's website opened for online visa appointments for students, it received more than 3,000 applications, he said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Embassy and consulates in China canceled the vast majority of in-person appointments for immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing more than 13 months ago.

Chinese students planning to go to American schools in the fall must apply for a U.S. visa 120 days before the start of their academic program and enter the U.S. 30 days before, Bistransky said.

Whether Chinese students need to complete a 14-day quarantine upon arrival will be subject to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities' policies, he said.

Starting in January, the CDC has required all passengers arriving in the U.S. from abroad to have COVID-19 tests no more than three days before their flight and to present negative results to the airline before boarding. The requirement still applies to students going to the U.S. this fall, Bistransky said.

China is the largest source of foreign students for the U.S. In 2020, 382,000 Chinese students with F-1 and M-1 visas studied at American schools, accounting for 31% of all international students, but that was a 20% decline from 2019.

2 April 2021

US to begin processing worker visas suspended under Trump

The Biden administration will resume issuing visas to overseas workers after allowing a Trump-era ban to expire on 31st March 2021, in a further easing of coronavirus pandemic immigration restrictions.

Former president Donald Trump banned new issuance of worker visas commonly used by multinational businesses last year in a bid to force companies to hire US workers as unemployment levels soared during the pandemic.

The state department confirmed on Thursday that it would begin processing applications for the previously suspended visas, and asked people who had been rejected because of the presidential ban to reapply.

It added, however, that US embassies and consulates were only providing mission-critical visa services, which were being offered on a post by post basis.

Trump's visa ban affected a range of visas including categories J, which are used by au pairs, L and H-1B, which are widely used by technology companies. The ban was opposed by US business groups, which criticised it as harmful to the economy.

1 March 2021

Biden Administration Revokes Trump-Era Immigrant Visa Ban

On February 24, 2021, the Biden administration issued a proclamation immediately revoking the prior administration’s Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020, that blocked individuals from entering the United States on immigrant visas. Note that the proclamation provides relief to the ban on immigrant visas only. The Trump administration's ban on certain nonimmigrant visa categories, such as H-1B, J-1, and L-1 visas, still remains in effect and is currently set to expire on March 31, 2021.

The Biden administration indicated that the immigrant visa ban does not advance U.S. interests and, in fact, harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world, and prevents immigrants from realizing their dreams in the United States. The immigrant visa ban was set to expire on March 31, 2021.

The proclamation further directs the secretary of state, the secretary of labor, and the secretary of homeland security to review any regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions developed pursuant to Proclamation 10014 and, as appropriate, issue revised guidance consistent with its revocation, as necessary.

The revocation will allow a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad to issue an immigrant visa to eligible individuals. Note, however, that many consulates and embassies are closed or operating on limited capacity due to COVID-19.

06 February 2021

H-1B Visa Registration In US For 2022 To Begin In March 2021

The registration process for the H-1B visa application for the next fiscal year will begin on March 9 and the successful applicants through a computerised draw of lots would be notified by March 31, a federal agency has announced.

The notification by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday came a day after US President Joe Biden's administration announced that it will continue with the traditional lottery system to issue the much sought-after work visa to foreign professionals.

The USCIS announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2022 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 9 and run through noon March 25.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

During the registration period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to fill out petitioner and beneficiary information and submit their registrations, the USCS said.

The agency said if it receives enough registrations by March 25, it will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications by March 31.

The successful applicants would be able to join their new jobs in the US on October 1, when the American fiscal year starts.

As mandated by the Congress, USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.