President Trump on Thursday postponed a suspension of certain immigrant and work visas from the pandemic and ensured that his large limits on legal immigration remain in force when Joe Biden is sworn in.
Through a proclamation issued 20 days before the inauguration day, Mr. Trump ordered an extension of the three-month visa restrictions, first issued in April as a ban on some prospective immigrants and extended in June to stop several temporary work programs as well.
Mr. Trump said the limits – which call for a broad presidential power to enter foreigners deemed harmful to U.S. interests – are necessary to prevent new immigrants and temporary workers from competing with Americans for jobs during the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. labor market and on the health of U.S. communities is a matter of continuing national concern,” he said. Trump wrote in a proclamation citing the unemployment rate, pandemic-related restrictions on issued enterprises. by states and the increase in coronavirus infections since June.
While he promised some of the centers of Mr. To overturn Trump’s immigration agenda, Mr. Biden has not yet said whether he intends to revoke the visa restrictions. A representative of Mr. Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump’s proclamation bans the issuance of certain immigrant visas to people abroad who want to move permanently to the U.S. through green card requests submitted by their U.S. relatives or prospective employers.
Spouses and children of 21 or younger U.S. citizens are not subject to the restrictions, which also exempt health workers who plan to fight the coronavirus, and immigrant investors who agree to invest more than $ 1 million in the U.S.
Mr. Trump’s order also continues the suspension of the diversity visa lottery, a program he has regularly criticized that allows people from under-represented countries, many of whom are in Africa, to move to the US. In September, a federal judge in Washington, DC, ordered government to issue visas to more than 9,000 prospective immigrants who won the lottery in 2020, but they remain banned from entering the U.S. within the proclamation.
The restrictions also stop several temporary visas that people abroad use to work in the U.S., including the H-1B program that is popular in the technology sector and H-2B visas for seasonal workers who do not farm. J-1 cultural exchange visas for au pairs and other short-term workers; matrimonial visas of H-1B and H-2B holders; and L visas for companies to relocate employees to the U.S. will also continue to be suspended.
In early October, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in San Francisco banned the Trump administration from imposing temporary work visa restrictions on foreign workers hired by several large U.S. businesses.
Advocates for immigrants have appealed to the incoming Biden administration to Mr. Trump’s visa limits to withdraw immediately in January.
“Too many families have been divorced and too many dreams have been shattered by this illegal ban,” said Karen Tumlin, the founder of the Justice Action Center and a lawyer who disputes the visa restrictions. “We will continue to challenge this ban in court and urge the Biden-Harris administration to repeal all of the president’s xenophobic presidential proclamations, including this ban, on day one of their administration.”