The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday (March 31) cited three sources familiar with the matter as saying that the White House will not extend the work visa restrictions on H-1B and other foreign workers.
The ban, first proposed and implemented last June in response to the new coronavirus outbreak, expired on March 31 and applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and certain J-1 visas.
Former President Trump’s administration said at the time that it was necessary to protect Americans’ jobs during the outbreak because of the economic downturn and soaring unemployment caused by the embargo measures taken by states to contain the outbreak. Trump on Dec. 31 last year again extended the work visa restrictions until the end of March this year, banning foreign workers with a series of temporary work visas from entering the United States.
White House officials said President Joe Biden does not plan to speak publicly about the issue and that his immediate focus is on rolling out infrastructure plans, the report said.
Experts: foreign workers still hard to come to the U.S. because the epidemic has not been lifted
However, immigration experts said that even if the ban is lifted, because Europe, Brazil, China, Iran and most of South Africa are still implementing the epidemic travel restrictions, most of the U.S. consulates in these countries will not issue visas, so there will not be many temporary foreign workers to the United States.
There are also areas where there is no blanket travel ban, but U.S. consulates are maintaining only a low level of operational capacity at this time, and in those cases, the State Department has instructed them to prioritize processing green cards over work visas.
“Visa processing is not going to pick up as quickly as everyone would like it to.” Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said.
Unions, one of the most loyal allies campaigning for Biden in 2020, have in the past taken issue with some of the work visas targeted by the ban.
In recent weeks, business leaders and immigration advocates have begun urging the Biden administration to act to reverse the restraining order. They have expressed concern that Biden is continuing to enforce the temporary labor ban in his first months in office.
Not extending the temporary labor work visa ban would benefit companies in the high-tech and landscaping industries. Companies in these industries have claimed in the past that they do not have the U.S. labor they can recruit to meet their specific needs.
In fact, tech companies have not been affected much, and they can continue to keep open positions while working remotely by hiring foreign workers. But seasonal employers, including landscaping companies, resort owners and summer camp organizers, are typically the ones who need to hire foreign workers on temporary work visas during peak seasons.
Biden last month lifted part of the immigration ban – including restrictions that prevented family members of U.S. citizens, some immigrants with employment-based green cards and those drawn on lottery green cards from entering the U.S. – but kept the ban in place until it expires on March 31.
The White House had not commented on the ban’s expiration by press time. Previously, Biden’s transition team and White House policy officials have repeatedly said they will prioritize the pandemic response and may be slow to act on other matters.
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