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US President Donald Trump on Thursday extended a pair of immigration bans. This may block many "green card" applicants and temporary foreign workers, with H1B Visa from entering the country. He says that the USA needs these measures "to protect U.S. workers amid the pandemic-battered economy."
The bans had come out in April and June. They were set to expire on December 31 but will be extended until March 31, 2021. The news comes out in the latest in a series of last-gasp immigration moves by the outgoing Trump administration. A broad range of businesses opposes the ban on certain foreign workers.
Will Biden Administration change the regulations?
President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20. He has criticized the restrictions but has not yet said whether he would immediately reverse them. Trump issued the bans in the form of presidential proclamations that President-elect Joe Biden can swiftly undo. In October, a federal judge in California blocked Trump's ban on foreign guest workers or H1B visa holders. It applied to hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses that fought the policy in court. The judge also found the ban would cause "irreparable harm" to the businesses by interfering with their operations and leading them to lay off employees and close open positions. The US Department of Justice, thus, appealed the decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The next hearing will be on January 19.
According to many sources, US President-elect Joe Biden plans to increase the number of high-skilled visas, including the H1B. He also aims to eliminate the limit on employment visas by country. Both of these will benefit tens of thousands of Indian professionals. Yet, the current administration laws stand till overturned by Joe Administration.
About the H1B visa and Green Card
H1B visa expands the available pool of high-skilled workers in the United States. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows American companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Further, technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Employment-based visas, also known as green cards, allow migrants to gain lawful permanent residence in the US to engage in skilled work.
At least 20 million people remain on unemployment benefits in the United States as the novel coronavirus continues to spread nationwide.
(Except for additional inputs, this story has not been edited by CiOL staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)