Outgoing President Trump will Extend Work Visa Ban
Outgoing U.S President Donald Trump has extended the controversial U.S work visa and green card ban until 31st March 2021.
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Outgoing U.S President Donald Trump has extended the controversial U.S work visa and green card ban until 31st March 2021. The Trump administration stated that the extension of the ban was due to “continued economic woes” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Trump’s hardline stance on immigration has been a cornerstone of his presidency. President-elect Joe Biden will be able to lift the ban should he wish when he takes office on 20th January. As of yet, there is no indication of whether the U.S work visa and green card ban will be rescinded or extend under the Biden presidency.
The ban was first imposed in April, and renewed in June after anti-immigration groups argued that it was “unfair” for immigrants to be able to apply for jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic, jobs which were badly needed by Americans.
Which American Visas are Banned?
The Trump ban suspends any fresh application for H1B visas, H2B visas, J1 visas and L1 visas. Trump claims that the ban will protect American jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many U.S federal judges have attempted to limit the impact of Trump’s U.S work vis and green card bans.
In October of last year, Jeffrey White ruled that Trump’s work visa ban could not be enforced against groups and their members who sued the Trump administration over the ban. This includes the U.S Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation and TechNet.
And just last month, U.S District Judge of Oakland, California, Edward Chen, ruled that the green card ban could not be enforced against the families of 181 U.S citizens and legal residents who had sued.
In relation to the extension of the ban, Trump said:
“The effects of COVID-19 on the United States labor market and on the health of American communities is a matter of ongoing national concern.”
“The current number of new daily cases worldwide reported by the World Health Organization, for example, is higher than the comparable number present during June. While therapeutics and vaccines are now available for an increasing number of Americans, their effect on the labor market and community health has not yet been fully realized.”
It remains to be seen what Joe Biden’s immigration policy will look like. President-elect Biden has already suggested that he will rescind the ‘Muslim ban’, but the exact nature of his administration’s immigration policy is not yet clear.
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Donald Trump has extended the work visa ban until March 2021. [Image credit: Boston Globe]
New applications for the H1B, H2B, J1 and L1 visas will remain suspended.