In a victory for employers, President Biden declined to extend President Trump’s ban on several categories of nonimmigrant work visas, including most new H-1B visas for high-skilled workers and L-1 visas for intracompany transfers.
In April 2020, President Trump banned most immigration to the U.S. In June 2020, he expanded the ban to certain nonimmigrant visas, halting new H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visas for work-and-study based exchange visitor programs through the end of 2020. On the last day of 2020, the President extended the ban through March 31 of this year.
HR Policy advocated for the rescission of the ban, which during the pandemic has compounded delays and uncertainty for employers, their foreign-born professional workers, and their families.
Outlook: The ban reflected President Trump’s view that foreign-born workers and work visas such as H-1B visas undercut job opportunities for U.S. workers. The data shows a different picture—foreign-born workers of all skill levels benefit their companies, American workers, American communities, and the American economy. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is considering rulemakings that would make hiring early career professionals on H-1B visas more difficult.