Biden Administration: Immigration Latest Update

Since newly elected President Biden’s rise to power, we have witnessed changes that positively impact the US immigration system. One of the most notable changes occurred on February 24, 2021, when President Biden revoked the Immigrant Visa ban outlined in Presidential Proclamation 10014.

This was issued by former President Trump. According to this ban, immigrant visas were suspended due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. President Biden’s move to revoke this ban will enable several thousand awaiting applicants to pursue their green cards.

Another noteworthy move by President Biden took place on January 25th, 2021, when the “Buy American Hire American” order was revoked. This order came into effect under the leadership of former President Trump.

According to this order, the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security were required to develop and propose new rules to favor and protect US workers. This directly impacted various employment visa programs, such as the H1-B visas.

In March 2017, the US implemented what could be termed one of its most discriminatory bans—the prohibition of entry for travelers who came from predominantly Muslim countries. This ban also applies to travelers from a few African countries.

Due to this ban, the country experienced chaos; travelers were denied entry into the US, and several families were separated without notice. On January 20th this year, President Biden also revoked this ban.

The President has further proposed the eight-year path to citizenship, impacting 11 million people. The legal immigration system will witness several noticeable changes as well.

The current per-country cap on visas might be eliminated or changed, there will be a provision to rapidly acquire green cards for next of kin (children and spouses) of permanent residents of the US, and most importantly, the system will have a good look at previously rejected visas to reduce the number of green card backlogs.

The children of those who entered the United States with the help of H1-B Visas may not be forced to leave. Under the Biden Administration, we can expect more changes in the US immigration system.

During his presidential candidacy, Biden stated that Trump’s action on immigration was a rather unrelenting assault on the American Value system. He said he would “undo the damage” while ensuring that border enforcement would be maintained.

We are now at the threshold of what could be a fair, efficient, and just immigration system. Hopefully, President Biden’s immigration reforms will pave the way to a new America that can be called home to millions of immigrants.