Joe Biden Plans to Increase H-1B Visa Limit and Remove Country Quota for Green Cards

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is planning to increase the total number of high-skilled visas, including the H-1B, and eliminating the limit on employment-based visas by country, both steps are expected to benefit tens of thousands of aspiring Indian professionals.

As per Joe Biden’s policy document – “High skilled temporary visas should not be used to disincentivise recruiting workers already in the US for in-demand occupations. An immigration system that crowds out high-skilled workers in favour of only entry-level wages and skills threatens American innovation and competitiveness,”

The document further mentions “Biden believes that foreign graduates of a US doctoral programme should be given a green card with their degree and that losing these highly trained workers to foreign economies is a disservice to our own economic competitiveness,”

The new administration plans to create a new visa category allowing cities and counties to petition for higher levels of immigrants to support their economic growth. The holders of these visas would be required to work and reside in the city or county that petitioned for them, and would be subject to the same certification protections as other employment-based immigrants.

“Others simply struggle to attract a productive workforce and innovative entrepreneurs. As president, Biden will support a programme to allow any county or municipal executive of a large or midsize county or city to petition for additional immigrant visas to support the region’s economic development strategy, provided employers in those regions certify there are available jobs, and that there are no workers to fill them,” the document said.

All these are part of a comprehensive immigration reform that the Biden administration plans to work on, either in one go or in separate pieces.

Certainly, this means that the American dream is alive for deserving students & professionals.