US: The New Bill To Relieve H-1B Visas & Green Card Long Queues

The US’ new president Joe Biden barricaded the rules of two travel bans issued by Trump’s administration on his first day of taking office. Biden issued a proclamation that revokes travel-ban against the people of some Muslim majority countries and some African countries from entering the US. Biden has not rescinded the Covid travel bans affecting H and L visas and certain immigrant visas, yet. Trump extended them until March 31, 2021.

Amid this dilemma, what relieves the H-1B visa holders is that the Biden administration will likely put a pause or ease certain restrictions brought in by the Trump rule about the H-1B program. Biden’s office issued a memorandum ordering the immediate withdrawal of all rules pending at the Federal Register and that have not been published yet.

Biden’s office also directed the agencies to consider postponing the effective dates of regulations that have already been published but not in effect, for 60 days from the memo’s date. This directive will make the final rule on H-1B by the Department of Homeland Security ineffective. The final rule that sought to redefine H-1B employer-employee relationship, LCA and H-1B petition requirements on third parties. The Department of Labor already withdrew the guidances that it has posted to support DHS’ published requirements from end-clients.

Also, the Department of Homeland Security rule allocating H-1Bs based on wage levels and DOLs’ increasing prevailing wages-rule could be withdrawn or implementation could be postponed.

Biden’s office also sent a New Immigration Bill to Congress and a formal announcement has been made by the White House. The New Bill has the following changes:

• Citizenship process for around 11 million undocumented individuals in the country, prior to January 1, 2021, and legal permanent residence for certain individuals, after five years and for US citizenship after an additional three years.
• Clearance of backlogs, wait-time reduction, elimination of per-country caps for employment-based green cards, and recapture and use of previously unused visas from past years.
• Spouses and children of green-card holders to be exempted from the annual green card quota.
• Number of family-based visas to be granted each year
• Elimination of the three-year and ten-year unlawful presence bar
• H-4 visa holders to be granted work authorization
• Children of H-1B visa holders on green card track, to be protected from aging out.
• Eligible STEM graduates of US Universities considered remaining in the US.
• Granting conditional status with employment authorization to other qualifying unauthorized immigrants for five years with the option to apply for citizenship after a further period of three years.

The New Bill may face a lot of opposition and it needs the support of at least 10 Republican Congressmen. Negotiations and modifications are likely while it could take many months to become a law.