Trump extends visa restrictions until March

President TrumpDonald Trump Trump cuts his trip to Florida short and returns to Washington on Thursday Intel vice president says the cyberattack on a government agency “ may have started earlier. ” On Thursday, extended an order suspending the issuance of certain types of work visas for an additional three months, citing the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House issued a proclamation hours before Trump’s original order expired. As a result, the entry of immigrants with various visas will be barred until March 31 unless the incoming Biden administration cancels it before then.

“The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to significantly disrupt the livelihoods of Americans,” the proclamation reads. “While the overall US unemployment rate of 6.7% in November reflects a sharp drop from its April peak, there were still 9,834,000 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs down in November than in November. February 2020 ”.

The suspension applies to H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas and some J-1 visas.

The most important program affected by the order is the H-1B visa program, the recipients of which are typically skilled workers in the tech industry who can stay in the United States for several years.

H-2B visas apply to seasonal workers and H-4 visas are issued to spouses of H-1B visa holders.

J-1 visas are granted to researchers, academics and other specialized categories such as au pairs, while L-1 visas are intended for executives transferring to the United States from overseas positions at the same employer.

Trump has faced pressure from some corners to extend the order until 2021, with some allies noting that the economy has yet to fully recover from the pandemic. These allies also believe that extending visa restrictions will put the president-elect Joe bidenJoe BidenTrump cuts his trip to Florida short and returns to Washington on Thursday Intel vice president says government agency cyberattack “ may have started earlier. ” Trump administration declassifies unconfirmed intelligence on Chinese bounties on US forces in Afghanistan in a difficult position out of the gate when he takes office on Jan.20.

“If this proclamation were allowed to expire, then businesses could easily start exploiting cheap foreign labor again,” said RJ Hauman, head of government relations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which had advocated for a extension of restrictions. “If President-elect Biden quickly cancels, the country should take note – he is not supporting American workers.”

Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president-elect has vowed to reverse many of Trump’s immigration policies, but if the economy continues to struggle, he may be less inclined to allow more foreign workers to join the U.S. workforce as millions of Americans are still unemployed.

The Trump administration initially justified the suspension by saying it would free up jobs for Americans who were unemployed due to the pandemic. But immigration had already been largely closed due to travel restrictions, and many companies have said some jobs that existed before the pandemic will no longer be filled.

The proclamation’s stance that the effects of the pandemic on the U.S. labor market are an ongoing national concern contradicts in many ways Trump’s own rhetoric on the economy. He posted a video earlier today touting the low unemployment rate and boasting that “our economy is growing at the fastest rate on record.”

Updated at 6:47 p.m.