The next big event looked upon for this year, especially for the United States, is the presidential elections on November 3.
The Republican President Donald Trump, this time competes against the Democratic presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden, in a digital meeting organised on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues, promised that if voted as the next US President, temporary suspension of H-1B visas and green cards shall be waivered.
How Bad is the Situation for Indian Immigrants in the US Currently?
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Americans lost their jobs.
Consequently, the Trump Govt issued an executive order on April 2020, to temporarily suspend all the green card related process and immigration visas (including H-1B, H-4, H-2, etc) for a period of 90 days.
On June 23, 2020, the Trump administration then passed a Presidential proclamation, which halted the entire immigration process, suspending all green card backlogs, processes and non-immigrant visas and work visas until December 31, 2020.
Right since his Presidency in 2016, Trump and his govt have always found and implemented new ways to restrict US borders to immigrants, making their entries extremely stringent.
What Does Biden Promise to Offer Indian Immigrants and Green Card Holders?
The Democratic party leader said that under his Presidency, immigrants (especially H-1B visa holders) will be treated as American equals.
Speaking of H-1B visa, it is a highly coveted non-immigrant visa, which lets US companies to employ highly skilled technical immigrants in specialty occupations.
Indians form a majority as H-1B visa holders.
Regarding this, Biden said,
“We support awarding visas for permanent, employment-based immigration in a way that is responsive to labour market needs. We want to attract and keep talent in this country, which is why Democrats will end the Trump administration’s freeze on green cards for new immigrants and instead pursue a meaningful reform agenda”.
Biden’s govt shall pivot on elimination of naturalization related barriers, cluttered green card backlogs (almost 10 lakh), increase caps on the current 1,40,000 green cards per year and pave a roadmap for an improved, efficient and faster US immigration process.
Biden Claims to Focus on Family Reunification
The Trump govt not only create complex visa norms and constant hassles around green cards and H-1B visas but also focused on rescinding immediate family visas, like H-4 visa, which allows spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US, while their spouse is in the US.
According to the 2020 Democratic Party Platform, Decocrats will majorly focus on family reunification programmes, which was ended under the Trump administration.