A new presidency brings changes all over. We expect immigration to be no exception. In fact, given the contrast between Mr. Biden’s and Mr. Trump’s views on immigration, we expect, regardless of the passage of any immigration bill in congress, several important changes:
- In Asylum: We expect an increase in the asylum permissible applications or “quotas.” Down to record lows of around 15,000, the Biden administration has already announced that it will increase the available asylum visas to up to 120,000. In addition to this, we expect a more expeditious asylum process due to hiring of additional asylum officers and immigration judges to adjudicate asylum petitions.
- In H1B visas: H1B visas had been a target of the Trump Administration for most of its term. Not only there were court challenges to certain policy implementations related to H1B, but the approval rate of H1B visas was hitting record lows. We expect that the Biden administration will not fight the H1B visa and that the H1B adjudication process will return to pre-Trump status in terms of timeframes and approvals.
- In DACA: This program had been challenged by the Trump Administration in court and recently a federal judge ordered that the program be restored. We expect that a Biden administration will not only preserve, but expand the eligibility requirements for DACA applicants.
- In Business Visas: Visas such as the E-2 investors visas, or the L-1A executive visa, did not see much of a change during the Trump administration. We expect these visas to remain steady with no perceptible change in the adjudication process. A similar situation is expected on other investment visas such as the popular EB-5.
- Permanent Residency or “Green Cards.” We expect the green card application process (I-485 application) to return to its pre Trump type of process. The Trump administration had added additional requirements like the “public charge” rule that made it more difficult for immigrants to have their I-485 approved because they had to prove that they will not be a “public charge”— a vague and difficult standard to meet. We expect the Biden administration to eliminate the public charge rule all together.
For more information about immigration law visit our website at www.lawayala.com, or call or text 305-570-2208.