The New Administration & Impact to Global Mobility (Recorded)

Roadmap for immigration lawyers on travel and adjudication

While we anticipate that the impacts of the second Trump Administration on employment-based immigration will be far-reaching, Trump’s first term in office, his statements on the campaign trail, and statements of key advisors provide a “roadmap” that can help immigration practitioners anticipate challenges and advise clients. This program examines Trump Administration policies and policy goals that are expected to impact both travel and adjudication trends for foreign nationals currently working in the U.S. under employer-sponsored visas.

Trump has indicated that his administration will undertake a number of policies that are expected to impact entry to the U.S. for foreign nationals. These include potential travel bans and enhanced security screenings (“extreme vetting”) during the visa application process and at U.S. ports of entry for all foreign nationals, regardless of country of birth. An extreme vetting policy could result in limited consular appointment availability and an increase in wait times for visa issuance and entry to the U.S. Trump’s stated policy goals are projected to delay travel to the U.S. for foreign nationals seeking to begin or resume employment with U.S. employers.

The panelists also discuss projected USCIS adjudication trends under the Trump Administration for common nonimmigrant visa categories, which include the potential for a steep increase in RFE rates across visa types. An illustrative example is RFE issuance rates for H1Bs, which peaked during Trump’s first administration at over 40% in 2019, and have since hovered right around 10% during the Biden administration. They also analyze adjudication trends for other nonimmigrant visa categories, including L’s, O’s and TNs. Understanding these trends, RFE “issues”, and anticipating which key industries are most likely to feel an outsize impact are critical to advising clients and foreign nationals during the next 4 years.

Finally, the panelists discuss the Trump Administration’s impacts on dependents of nonimmigrant visa holders, with a particular emphasis on H-4 dependents of H-1B visa holders and L-2 dependents of L-1B visa holders. With the expiration of the Edakunni Settlement on January 18th, 2025, we expect a significant increase in adjudication time for dependent applications that could ultimately impact employment authorization for dependents. There is the potential for the administration to rescind the L-2S automatic work authorization rule, restrict or delay the issuance of dependent EADs, and reinstate biometrics requirements for dependents.