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On Monday, the Biden administration stated that it is still undecided about lifting the Trump-era ban on issuing new H-1B visas, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stating that the urgent needs of people fleeing persecution are his top priority. The ban on issuing new H-1B visas was extended by then-President Donald Trump in January, citing the country’s high unemployment rate and the fact that the US could not afford to hire more foreign workers.
“I don’t really (know)—I despise ending a conversation on a question. I’m not sure about the answer. But this relates to what came before us. We have a prioritization matrix because we have so much work to do to repair, restore, and rebuild, and the acute needs of people fleeing persecution are, of course, a high priority. This brings me to this morning’s meeting “Mayorkas responded.
At the same time, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the process of allocating H-1B visas for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2021.
It announced last month that it had received enough applications to fill 65,000 H-1B visas and 20,000 H-1B visas for those who have completed their higher education at US universities.
Last year, Trump, a Republican, issued the ban, claiming that it was necessary to protect American workers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which had resulted in high unemployment.
A Green Card, also known as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document that is given to newcomers to the United States as proof that they have been granted the right to live permanently in the country.
The current immigration system, which imposes a 7% per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency, disproportionately affects Indian IT professionals, the majority of whom are highly skilled and come to the US primarily on H-1B work visas.
There is currently a backlog of nearly 473,000 qualified family-based Green Card applications in the United States.
Approximately 120,000 family-based preference visas were lost as a result of Trump’s ban on issuing green cards. However, this was a huge help in terms of issuing employment-based green cards, particularly to those on H-1B visas.
Thousands of Indian IT professionals who had patiently awaited their Green Cards have now been granted legal permanent residency as a result of the Trump administration’s last few months.
