After four years – Trump’s presidential performance certainly ended with a grand finale – it featured sociopolitical chaos, tragedy, a temporary destruction of democracy, a rampant pandemic and economic distress. How will Biden’s administration bode for the American Immigration landscape?
The ‘American Dream’ has been luring millions of migrants to the US for centuries. It has also made citizens proud of belonging to the ‘Land of the free, home of the brave‘. Whilst this sentiment might still hold true for many citizens, the stark reality of life for many Americans in the US right now is that ‘home’ is feeling less recognizable.
The US Elections of 2020 have shed light on the contrasting rifts between Democrats and Republicans and all sorts of other comparative opposites throughout society. Rifts so poignant that they resulted in the grim outcomes at the storming of the US Capitol on the 6th of January 2021. As President Biden aptly stated; “I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming. But that isn’t true. We could see it coming.”.
Where have Americans been fleeing over recent years?
Is it any wonder that there have been a record number of Americans applying for Investor Visas and Golden Visas abroad or even renouncing their citizenship in exchange for a more ‘favourable’ alternative citizenship?
Many have opted for neighbouring Mexico and Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany or further afield to Asia. Even France – with its notorious tax rates, intrinsic societal particularities, and latent risk of social unrest -has drawn in Americans.
None the less, with its favourable work-life balance, access to healthcare, affordable tuition and all the lures of ‘La Vie en Rose’ many Americans have opted for France as their new home.
With over 20 million cases of coronavirus in the US, many countries have shut their doors to American tourists, further weakening the global mobility power of this once stalwart passport. For those not fortunate enough to hold dual citizenship, or to have made the move prior to the Covid 19 pandemic – the US Passport has fallen from grace, having been ranked 1st – most powerful passport in both 2006 and 2014 it is now ranked 7th on the Henley Passport Index for 2021.
It is still early days for Biden but as fiscal reforms loom, social unrest persists and economic inequality steepens it is likely Americans will continue to look across the pond and beyond for greener pastures.
Read more: Grenada: A Gateway to the American Dream
What will Biden’s Presidency change for those emigrating to the US?
In his first 100 days he imposed a moratorium on deportations – which already stirred a lot of criticism. Biden is also supporting Dreamers (young immigrants brought to the US illegally as children) and undoing Trump’s asylum seeker limitations. This contrasts starkly with the former Presidents stance on immigration and Trump’s claims that “the USA is full” .
The global community also welcomes the appointment of Mayorkas – whose family fled from Cuba to LA – as Department of Homeland Security, as a clear indication of Biden’s more positive approach to immigration.
Nonetheless many questions arise on what this new Biden era will bring to the American immigration landscape?
On Thursday 18th February 2021, the Biden Administration put forward their focal legislation which brings numerous changes that impacts immigration including:
- An 8 year path to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US as of 1 January
- Family-based immigration restrictions that would be loosened allowing spouses and children to unite.
- Work Visa categories that would expand allowing for a greater inflow of international talent.
- Importantly substantial funds and resources would be assigned to fast track and streamline the processing of various classes of immigration permits.
Undocumented immigrants who meet the relevant checks and processes would be granted the right to live and work in the US for 5 years after which they may receive a Green Card (permanent status) and the right to apply for citizenship three years thereafter.
This is revolutionary in many ways for the millions of people who could not formally enter the ‘system’ and had to earn a living in its periphery, in many cases detrimentally affecting their ability to scale the social ranks in the US both economically and professionally.
What lies ahead for EB-5 applicants?
The EB-5, which has fuelled billions of FDI into the US but is set to end if if Congress cannot pass new legislation to renew the program by June 30th. At a time when the US economy would benefit greatly from FDI to navigate out of this global crisis and capitalize on investment migration FDI – we could instead be counting down the days to the program’s potential demise. Time is ticking – so pressure is mounting to clarify the future for EB-5.
This week the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Bill (proposed by Senators Grassley and Leahy) which promotes the program’s effective reform and extension, received added support from Can Am an integrated, multinational investment management firm that has over US$ 3 billion in private placement funds.
As the pandemic raged in 2020, along with numerous other developments in the US EB-5 sphere – there was a much lower number of EB-5 visas being issued last year.
As a result, in 2021 many more visas will be allocated to be issued as 2020’s unused visas roll over to this year – a critical element for Chinese and Vietnamese EB-5 applicants who have been waiting far too long.
With adequate reforms, it is hoped that USCIS will be able to improve its inefficiencies and reduce wait times which have been one of the key deterrents for foreign investors weighing up options for their second residency or citizenship investments. If country caps are removed this would also create a surge in demand from China, India and Vietnam exhausted of the uphill climb against waiting times and backlogs.
Additionally, if spouses and dependents are excluded from the capped number of EB-5 visas available each year and only the main investor is counted, this could certainly help in clearing up years of backlogs that have bogged down this residency by investment programme from its inception.
