President Biden Puts All Recent Trump Regulations in Abeyance
Trump Regulations to Decapitate Business Immigration Withdrawn or Postponed
President Biden went into action immediately after his swearing-in ceremony by signing a series of executive orders and directives that reversed the last-minute Trump Administration measures to in effect destroy business immigration to the United States. The Biden directive, issued by his Chief of Staff Ron Klain, directed all government Departments and Agencies to withdraw any rule not published in the Federal Register (the repository of all U.S. government regulations) or if published and not in effect, to delay implementation by 60 days (or longer), while the new Biden Administration determines its action plan.
The following new proposed rules of the Trump Administration are effected:
- “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” that sought to redefine ‘employer-employee’ relationships will be withdrawn.
- H-1B Wage Selection Final Rule will be delayed to at least March 20, 2021.
It is also expected that the new rules requiring filing of LCAs and Petitions by “secondary employers” will be withdrawn by the Department of Labor.
There is an added layer of complexity to this process, as there have been several legal challenges to the Trump measures that were upheld by the courts and were being appealed by the previous administration. It is expected that the Biden Administration will not be continuing with those appeals.
While the Biden Administration has already proposed significant immigrant friendly measures, the Department of Homeland Security and its agency the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) do not have new leadership in place as of yet. The new Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, previously headed the USCIS and is well versed on all immigration matters. He is expected to take an active role in the direction of all new rules and regulations. We are also waiting to hear how the new administration will handle the H cap filings for this year.
We will monitor this issue and update our clients as more information becomes available.
Please feel free to contact USILAW with any questions or issues that you may have. You may reach us via telephone at +1 (202) 618 4540 or via email at anindita@usilaw.com.
