U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked a proclamation made by his predecessor blocking many green card applicants from entering the United States, Reuters reports.
Former President Donald Trump issued the ban last year, saying it was needed to protect US workers amid high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ban included visas for work in high-tech industries and a range of others for low-skill workers, interns, teachers, managers and au pairs in the H-1B, H-4, H-2B, L-1 and J categories, and company transfers.
Biden rejected that reasoning in a proclamation on Wednesday rescinding the visa ban. The Democratic president said it had prevented families from reuniting in the United States and harmed US businesses.
“The suspension of entry imposed in Proclamation 10014… does not advance the interests of the United States. To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here,” Biden said.
Biden, pledged to reverse many of Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Business groups and immigrant advocates pressed in recent weeks for him to lift the visa ban, which was set to expire on March 31.
The reversal means that thousands of foreigners who had expected to wait until the end of March for the chance to apply for the coveted visas can now do so immediately.
U.S.-based tech companies use H-1B visas to hire highly skilled workers, including engineers, IT specialists and architects from outside of the country. The companies claim there is a shortage of U.S.-resident talent. The visas are good for three years and can be renewed for a second three-year term. Prior to the shutdown, about 65,000 visas were issued each year.
Critics say they serve as loopholes for businesses seeking to undercut American salaries because companies can pay foreign workers less.
Biden left in place another ban on most foreign temporary workers.
Presidential Proclamation 10052, which continues to block certain work visa applicants from entering the U.S. during the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic, as well as rules blocking visa issuance to applicants in the Schengen area, Iran, China, Brazil and South Africa, remains in place for now.
