Vice President Joe Biden’s victory in the US Presidential elections will be a victory for US immigration as well. Promising a comprehensive immigration reform, Joe Biden not only intends to increase the H1-B visa quota but also resume work permits for spouses of H1-B visa holders.
With an intention to reverse many of the restrictive immigration policies imposed by the outgoing Trump administration, Joe Biden is being hailed as the President that will bring fairness to skilled foreign workers that will support and improve the U.S. economy equally.
Among the reforms planned by the Biden administration, thousands of Indians will benefit from the increase in H1-B visas each year, reduced backlogs among green card holders and international students coming each year on F-1 visas.
New Expectations For H1-B Visa
Increase H1-B Visas: US President-elect Joe Biden plans to increase the number of high-skilled visas, including the H-1B visa. This would give a wider opportunity to Indian applicants who are the biggest demographic of H1-B applicants.
Eliminate Country Cap: Another limitation of being restricted is the limit of country-wise quotas. By eliminating the limit on employment-based visas by country, many more skilled professionals will be able to apply for the H1-B visa.
Wage Appreciation: Lastly, the Biden team intends to establish a wage-based allocation process and work with the U.S. Congress to employment of foreign workers is in alinement with the local labor requirements without undermining wages of either parties.
New Expectations For Employment- Based Green Card
Eliminate Annual Cap: Currently, 140,000 employment based green cards are issued each year. Team Biden plans to evaluate this total number and establishing a system that is responsive to the labor market’s demands and needs. Depending upon the state of the U.S. employment rate, domestic employers will have the opportunity to meet their demand for foreign labor as required.
New Expectations For Family-Based Green Card
Reunite Families: For all family members awaiting their green cards to be united with their sponsoring U.S. citizen, Biden intends to issue a temporary non-immigrant visa until the permanent visa is processed. This would also treat the spouse and children of green card holders as the immediate relatives and be exempted them from caps.
Parents will be allowed to bring their minor children with them at the time of their immigration.
New Expectations For F1 Visa For International Students
Exempt Graduates From Cap: As U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes charge, international students studying in the U.S. for advanced graduate programs will also benefit. Graduates of PhD programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields in the US will be exempt from any cap.
Green Card For F1 Graduates: He intends to create a legislation that will give a green card to foreign graduates of a U.S. doctoral programs they graduate with an intent to retain these “highly-trained workers to support our own economic competitiveness”.
New Changes: Region Based Demand For Skilled Foreign Labor
Visa For Local Counties: Another important factor U.S Presidential-elect will support is to allow the demand for foreign workers be region based. This implies that counties or municipal executive of a large or midsize county or city should be allowed to petition for additional immigrant visas if it will support that region’s economic development.
The county should be able to certify that these additional job vacancies are available after there are no domestic workers to fill them.
The holders of these visas would be required to work and reside within the city or county that petitioned for them. The foreign worker will be treated as other employment-based immigrants and subjected to the same certification protections.
There are a lot of positive changes expected as Joe Biden takes charge as the U.S President. Please stay tuned to this space for all the latest updates as they unfold.
