Trump to "suspend immigration"/ USCIS bailout/ New fees

[Randy W]

Nothing really new in this article, but it provides a good description of the plight faced by H1-B's currently in the country and facing layoffs.

 

from the NY Times

 

They Lost Their Jobs. Now They May Have to Leave the U.S.

The Trump administration is unlikely to allow laid-off holders of H-1B and other work visas to extend their stay in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Now, he is scrambling to find another job before the 60-day grace period for transferring his visa to another employer expires early next month. He is not optimistic.

The lives of tens of thousands of foreign workers on skilled-worker visas, such as H-1Bs, have been upended by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis. Many have been waiting in a backlog for several years to obtain permanent legal residency through their employer, and now face the prospect of deportation.

The Trump administration is also expected within the next few weeks to halt the issuance of new work visas such as the H-1B, for high skilled foreigners, and the H-2B, for seasonal employment. The new measures under review, according to two current and two former government immigration officials, would also eliminate a program that enables foreign graduates of American universities to remain in the country and work.

The tightening work rules come as unemployment in the U.S. soared last month to 14.7 percent, the highest level on record, and as calls escalated in Congress for Americans to be given priority for jobs.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

 

Immigration Agency That Issues Visas, Green Cards Struggles to Stay Afloat

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has asked Congress for a lifeline amid the coronavirus pandemic that has caused applications to plummet and brought it to the brink of insolvency.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which relies on the fees that it charges applicants to fund its operations, said that it could run out of money by the summer because the coronavirus pandemic had resulted in far fewer people applying for visas and other benefits.

“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S.C.I.S. has seen a dramatic decrease in revenue,” said a spokesman for the agency, noting that its receipts could plummet by more than 60 percent by the close of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

 

Without the $1.2 billion injection from Congress, the agency, he said, would be unable to fund its operations in a matter of months. The agency plans to impose a 10 percent “surcharge” on applications, on top of previously proposed increases, that it is expecting to implement in the coming months.

 

“This administration has made every single application much more expensive and time-consuming to adjudicate,” said Doug Rand, who worked on immigration policy in the Obama administration.

In fiscal year 2016, the agency had 15,828 positions, including full-time and contract workers. Three years later, that number had climbed to almost 18,866, a 19 percent increase.

. . .

Ana Maria Schwartz, an immigration lawyer in Houston, said that half as many clients had retained her to apply for green cards, citizenship and other immigration benefits between March 15 and May 15 compared with the same period in 2019. “That’s a seismic shift, even for my tiny firm,” she said.

. . .

In November last year, the agency’s leadership proposed steep increases in fees to file for legal immigration and naturalization. For the first time, the agency would also charge those fleeing persecution and seeking protection in the United States.

 

 

 

 

[Randy W]

from the WSJ

USCIS to Add Surcharge to Immigration Applications

 

The agency has requested $1.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress and said in a statement it plans to use the 10% surcharge to reimburse the money once immigration services resume. A House Democratic aide said the agency will brief relevant committees on Monday.

USCIS handles applications for citizenship, permanent residency and nearly all visas, along with petitions for refugee and asylum status. The office closures have slowed down visa renewals, threatening the legal status of potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants whose visas are set to expire in coming months. They have also prevented tens of thousands of people who had passed citizenship tests from taking their oaths—typically conducted at large, in-person ceremonies that have all been canceled.

Without an infusion from Congress, the agency said its revenue for the fiscal year, which ends in September, is projected to drop by 61% from expected levels, and it must take “drastic actions to keep the agency afloat” during the summer.

. . .

“Yet another sign that this administration intends to break our legal immigration and naturalization system,” Ur Jaddou, the top lawyer at USCIS during the Obama administration, wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

[Randy W]

from Business Insider

 

What to do if you get laid off on an H-1B visa during the coronavirus pandemic

 

 

• An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers from other countries.
• Congress allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue up to 65,000 H-1B work visas to highly skilled foreign workers each year. It can issue an additional 20,000 H-1B visas to workers who obtained a graduate degree in the U.S.
• Because more people apply than can be accepted, the visas are run through a lottery system.
• If you get laid off on an H-1B visa, you have several options: Find a new employer to sponsor your H1-B visa; get a spousal support visa; apply to change your status to a student or tourist visa; or leave the U.S.
• Your visa status will expire 60 days after termination.

 

[Martin B]

from Business Insider

 

What to do if you get laid off on an H-1B visa during the coronavirus pandemic

 

 

• An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers from other countries.
• Congress allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue up to 65,000 H-1B work visas to highly skilled foreign workers each year. It can issue an additional 20,000 H-1B visas to workers who obtained a graduate degree in the U.S.
• Because more people apply than can be accepted, the visas are run through a lottery system.
• If you get laid off on an H-1B visa, you have several options: Find a new employer to sponsor your H1-B visa; get a spousal support visa; apply to change your status to a student or tourist visa; or leave the U.S.
• Your visa status will expire 60 days after termination.

 

 

 

What the heck is a "spousal support visa"? Never heard of that before.

 

I know a guy in this situation. He's from Mexico, his wife is from Vietnam, and their kid was born in the US. They just bought a condo here last year, and now he's facing a layoff while here on an H1B. To say he's stressed out would be an understatement....

[Randy W]

 

What the heck is a "spousal support visa"? Never heard of that before.

 

 

 

 

That would be the IR-1 or CR-1 with the word "support" tossed in for good measure (as in Affidavit of Support). No job is needed.

[newacct]

 

from Business Insider

 

What to do if you get laid off on an H-1B visa during the coronavirus pandemic

 

 

• An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers from other countries.
• Congress allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue up to 65,000 H-1B work visas to highly skilled foreign workers each year. It can issue an additional 20,000 H-1B visas to workers who obtained a graduate degree in the U.S.
• Because more people apply than can be accepted, the visas are run through a lottery system.
• If you get laid off on an H-1B visa, you have several options: Find a new employer to sponsor your H1-B visa; get a spousal support visa; apply to change your status to a student or tourist visa; or leave the U.S.
• Your visa status will expire 60 days after termination.

 

 

 

What the heck is a "spousal support visa"? Never heard of that before.

 

Maybe they mean like if your spouse has some kind of independent nonimmigrant status, you can change to a derivative status of that. For example, H4 if your spouse is on H1b, F2 if your spouse is on F1, etc.

[Randy W]

from the WSJ

 

Trump Administration Considers Suspending H-1B, Other Visas Through the Fall

 

 

The proposed suspension could extend into the government’s new fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, when many new visas are typically issued, these officials said. That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected.

 

The suspension proposal is one of a series of legal immigration limits that President Trump is considering as part of an executive action he is set to unveil in the coming weeks. The administration has argued that the pandemic requires limits on immigration to prevent sick people from entering the country and to ensure that Americans get jobs first as the economy rebounds.

 

In a May 27 letter addressed to Mr. Trump, nine Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and John Cornyn (R., Texas) urged him to reconsider broad new restrictions on temporary work-visa programs, which the senators said would ultimately hurt U.S. businesses.

 

“American businesses that rely on help from these visa programs should not be forced to close without serious consideration,” they wrote. “Guest workers are needed to boost American business, not take American jobs.”

 

 

[eseum]

Charles Koch has expressed his opinion against any restrictions, as has the Chamber of Commerce, and other conservative business groups. Makes for an interesting dichotomy to say the least.

[Allon]

Conservative groups, including Bill Gates, have been strong advocates of H1-B. But for the past few years, those I work with have had to go to Canada to continue working at the same company. So even if they still have a job, Trump is cutting off renewal of the H1B. If they go to Canada, the job is not left vacant for an American. And not many schools are teaching the old skills in computers (which most H-1B's are). And to say they are "highly skilled" is to be kind. They are normal except for a few. And when the whistle blows better not be near the doors. I will miss many of them as they have become good, but it's really too late to make room for someone in America to take over.

 

That's why corporations don't like the idea. We didn't need them in 1995 when all of it started. Now we do. Just like the migrant workers who pick our fruit and vegetables. A lot of people are sweating, not to forget Americans too.

[Randy W]

from the WSJ

 

Trump Moves to Temporarily Suspend New H-1B, Other Visas

Tech-industry officials warn the decision would cramp companies’ ability to recruit top talent to the U.S.

WASHINGTON—President Trump signed an order Monday temporarily barring new immigrants on a slate of employment-based visas, including the H-1B for high-skilled workers, from coming to the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The restrictions, which are set to take effect June 24 and last through the end of the year, will prevent hundreds of thousands of new immigrants who were expected to rely on the visas to work in industries ranging from tech and consulting to landscaping and seasonal jobs at resorts.

 

. . .

 

 

The order is likely to be challenged in court by business groups.

 

. . .

 

The restrictions expand on a temporary immigration ban Mr. Trump introduced in April that blocked some family members of U.S. citizens with newly issued green cards from moving to the U.S. for the time being.

 

In addition to the H-1B visa, the temporary ban will apply to new H-2B visas for short-term seasonal workers in landscaping and other nonfarm jobs, J-1 visas for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs, and L-1 visas for internal company transfers.

 

The new restrictions won’t apply to visa-holders already in the U.S., or those outside the country who have already been issued valid visas.

 

The restrictions are set to last beyond Oct. 1, the start of the government’s fiscal year, when new H-1B visas in particular tend to be issued.

 

 

 

. . . and the WaPo

 

Trump, citing pandemic, orders limits on foreign workers, extends immigration restrictions through December

 

Visa processing at U.S. consulates abroad already has plunged. State Department visa statistics show the number of nonimmigrant visas issued each month has dropped more than 90 percent since February. Last month, the United States granted just more than 40,000 nonimmigrant visas — which include visas for tourists and other short-term visitors — down from 670,000 in January, the data shows.

 

 

[Randy W]

from the WaPo - "potential furlough" notices are being mailed out. Meanwhile, the Teump administration may be more inclined to use any bailout money toward border enforcement.

 

Originally reported in CFL here - http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/50082-trump-to-suspend-immigration/?p=645197

 

The U.S. immigration agency needs a $1.2 billion bailout, and negotiations have put Democrats in a bind

 

The federal agency that runs the U.S. immigration system is preparing to furlough 13,400 employees unless Congress provides a $1.2 billion bailout by August, a looming crisis that could further slow green card renewals, citizenship processing and ripple through the U.S. economy.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees around the country began receiving notices this week telling them to prepare for the unpaid furloughs, which would affect about two-thirds of the agency’s staff.

But with the deadline a month away, significant obstacles to a bailout deal with Democrats remain, according to congressional staffers and Department of Homeland Security officials who described secret negotiations on the condition of anonymity.

 

President Trump’s opponents want the agency to make administrative changes to streamline application processing and ease the in-person requirements for administering the oath of citizenship. Hundreds of thousands of people have been unable to take the oath in recent months because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leaving potential voters in the next election unable to cast a ballot in November.

But Democrats have limited leverage in negotiations with a White House that is campaigning on its record of cutting immigration.

There also is lingering frustration among Democrats over the last immigration-related emergency funding request from DHS — a $4.6 billion border supplemental last year that some Democrats warned would be misused.

The money was approved, dividing moderates and progressives in the party. But a report issued by the Government Accountability Office found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection illegally spent some of the humanitarian funds on dirt bikes, computer gear and other items.

Democratic lawmakers “have been frustrated to see appropriated money not used as intended,” one congressional staffer said. “Now they’re being asked again to bail out a component that has been used as an enforcement arm of the administration.”

 

 

[Randy W]

from the SCMP - a very disruptive policy shot down

 

US drops plan to deport foreign students taking online-only classes

• International students will be allowed retain their US visas even if taking college classes remotely
• Federal judge in Massachusetts announces settlement of lawsuit originally brought by Harvard and MIT

[Randy W]

It's unclear if this ruling will have any effect, since green cards and visas are not being issued,. The I-864 is largely self-enforcing, since it intimidates immigrants into NOT applying for benefits, even when they would be eligible.

 

from CBSNews

 

Judge orders Trump to halt immigration wealth test during national coronavirus emergency

 

 

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to stop enforcing a sweeping wealth test on people applying for green cards and visas for the duration of the national emergency over the coronavirus, agreeing with Democratic-led states that the rules discourage immigrants from seeking public assistance during the pandemic.

 

 

[Randy W]

from the USCIS

 

USCIS Adjusts Fees to Help Meet Operational Needs

 

Release Date

07/31/2020

 

Quote

Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule (PDF) that adjusts fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests to ensure U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recovers its costs of services.

 

For a full list of changes and a complete table of final fees, see the final rule (PDF).

 

 

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-16389.pdf

 

 

link to https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-16389.pdf

Edited December 18, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)