Biden’s ‘Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System’
The Biden Administration has published plans to reform the US immigration system and provide better opportunities for foreign nationals to secure work visas and join their families.
The 46-page document called ‘DHS Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System’ sets out a vision which would effectively undo many Trump-era immigration policies and make it cheaper and easier to move to the USA.
New policies would include:
- Helping more people move to America, including skilled workers, families of US citizens living overseas, asylum seekers, refugees, trafficking victims, and Native Americans born in Canada.
- Reform of the H1B program for highly skilled workers
- Simplifying immigration applications – shorter forms that can be filed online.
- Reducing application fees or waiving fee for individuals who file their applications online.
- Reducing the number of security checks on applicants.
- Fewer requests for evidence to made for evidence from foreign-born nationals.
- Increasing virtual interviews and electronic filing.
- Introducing new regulations to “encourage full participation by immigrants in our civic life”
USCIS Chief of Staff Felicia Escobar Carrillo told the New York Times that the reforms were needed to “open up all avenues of legal immigration” and to improve the chances of applicants being successful in their application to come to the US.
“In the same way that [the Trump administration] took a broad-stroke approach to closing off avenues, I think we want to take a broad approach toward opening up the legal avenues that have always been available but that they tried to put roadblocks up on,” Carrillo said.
US immigration advice
We continue to monitor developments in US immigration policy and procedure. If you have any queries or concerns about system changes, and the impact on your US immigration options and status, speak to our US immigration specialists.
This article does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only.
Author
Founder & Principal Attorney Nita Nicole Upadhye is a recognized leader in the field of US business immigration law, (The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, Who's Who Legal and AILA) and an experienced and trusted advisor to large multinational corporates through to SMEs. She provides strategic immigration advice and specialist application support to corporations and professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, artists, actors and athletes from across the globe to meet their US-bound talent mobility needs.
Nita is an active public speaker, thought leader, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals.
