American Immigration 2020: State of Disunion!
By
Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq.
First, there was the President, who said that immigrants were filthy and criminals. He also said that, somehow, he still loved India and Indians, even though he tried everything to stop South Asians from coming to the United States to live in the United States, including banning H1B and L1 visa holders and Muslims. They also targeted students, and a large number of Indian nationals abandoned their plans to obtain an education in the United States in favor of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, all of which had environments that were more welcoming to foreigners, including Indians. So much for a welcoming Statute of Liberty—all we could see was the phrase "Build a Wall!!!" instead.
Second, we had the Covid 19 pandemic, which shocked the world and destroyed any remaining hope that our immigration system would improve in 2020. Visa services were largely unavailable at US Consulates and Embassies worldwide. The majority of consular officers returned to the United States to spend more time with their loved ones and families. There were no Visa Services. In most jurisdictions, immigration courts were largely shut down and remain so. All of the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) field and local district offices were closed to the public, and biometrics were also disabled. This caused a huge backlog of people waiting to get an interview or have their fingerprints taken so their cases could be decided. Because it was a Public Health Crisis, the government had no choice but to take measures to stop the spread. However, it significantly restricted movement into the United States.
The announcement that USCIS had run out of money came in third. That the number of individuals and businesses applying for visas or status had drastically decreased as a result of policy decisions that made it harder to approve applications. This resulted in a significant financial loss for USCIS, which is one of the few federal agencies that are responsible for raising its own funds. In addition, this was accompanied by the Coronavirus's impact on applicants (lost jobs, uncertain future, sickness-related fears, or simply office closures). The USCIS announced that their average revenue had decreased by 40% and that they would lay off approximately 13,900 employees—or 66%—for the remainder of the year and possibly beyond if they did not receive $1.2 billion in funding from Congress. That money never came from Congress, but the agency was able to keep its employees for the time being thanks to alternative concessions.
Fourth, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) devised a strategy to significantly raise the fees for the majority of forms (but not all) and alter the forms that were being utilized in an effort to raise some additional funds and possibly impose additional restrictions on immigrants who are less financially stable. USCIS's attempt was temporarily halted after the Federal Court in Northern California ruled that these fee increases were unreasonable. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decided almost simultaneously that USCIS's expanded regulations and implementations on Public Charge could take effect. As a result, starting on February 24, 2020, all forms and applications subject to the Public Charge rules will now also need to be filed and submitted on Form I-944, a lengthy and complicated form that deals with personal financial dealings.
Last but not least, with the prodding of the President, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Labor announced Interim Final Rules four weeks before the Presidential elections and many important Senatorial elections (without the properly proposed rule-making and comment period) to step further and reduce employment-based immigration by increasing wage rates in several categories and changing several definitions of words to make meeting the bar for approval so much harder. The general consensus seems to be that this is unmistakably an effort to score electoral points with conservatives and other immigration hardliners. It is unclear whether these regulations will actually be implemented or what their long-term effects may be given that the election is only a few weeks away and that they are not supposed to take effect until December 7. There will almost certainly be lawsuits filed.
Although all of the aforementioned conjures up a gloomy picture of US immigration I am pleased to report that there is hope and a glimmer of light in the future. All Americans have a chance to make their voices heard during the upcoming elections, which are just a few weeks away. An opportunity for us to decide: "Do we want to live in what the founders called the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, or do we want a nativist and populist mantra that is Zenophobic and restrictionist?" We will have a day or days of reckoning in a few weeks, and this will be our chance to speak up and alter the course of America's future! If you are eligible, I respectfully and humbly urge everyone to vote. EVERYONE.
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