The 2024 American presidential election has come to a historic close after months of apprehension. Many Americans are watching with uncertainty as a new administration takes shape. Foreign talent, investors, and other individuals hoping to immigrate to the United States are apprehensive about how this change of power influences their chances of relocating in the near future.
Well-known as a polarizing figure representing no-nonsense American patriotism, immigrants are justified in their worries, but F. Oliver Yang, Chair of Reid & Wise LLC’s immigration department assures his clients and prospective applicants to stay open-minded. He advises them to be proactive with any potential roadblocks that could emerge. Long-term, Oliver anticipates no substantial legislative action and a slight chance of a positive impact on business immigration. He also encourages a cautious and pragmatic strategy for any upcoming immigration endeavors.
For several decades, business immigration has remained a bipartisan issue. Both parties have demonstrated their support for evolving the nation’s legal immigration system. The introduction of bills like the Immigration Modernization Act and the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 are just a few examples of business immigration’s popularity in Congress.
While Trump’s stance on illegal immigration is clear, his view on business immigration is not so transparent. However, he has demonstrated a positive outlook toward it, as seen in his exclusion of the EB-5 program in a 2020 Executive Order restricting international immigration. But his America First ethos strongly influence how he approaches any kind of immigration. Now that Trump has won the 2024 presidential election, it’s time to be realistic about the road ahead.
According to his campaign messaging, Trump plans to curtail green card issuance and restrict certain categories of green cards. In his first term, he tightened H-1B visa requirements to sidestep system abuse. These types of crackdowns along with increased regulatory oversight such as on-site visits and more scrutiny on evidence is expected.
However, these hypothetical changes are nothing to panic about. From a legislative and regulatory perspective, an overhaul of business immigration is very unlikely. Here’s Oliver’s insights on the next four years:
“Changing immigration law is a very complex process that requires coordination between Congress and the White House, and with so many other important issues on his agenda, such as inflation, energy, and tax policies, I strongly believe any legislative changes to business immigration policies are unlikely. If anything, EB-5 investors, EB1A, and PERM applicants may benefit from a Trump administration thanks to his focus on making sure that the best talent is welcome in America,” Oliver explains.
On the regulatory side, more shake ups are possible. Despite a strong bipartisan consensus that a business immigration environment is key for American prosperity, Trump has expressed his desire to root out bad actors abusing the nation’s immigration system. As he reduces family-based immigration, a program ripe for misuse, Trump may set his sights on heightening screening procedures to mitigate immigrants becoming dependent on public infrastructure. If this happens, application filing and processing could become even more fraught with bureaucratic inefficiencies. During his first term, his reform to the immigration system caused higher denial rates, making this a possibility once again.
However, Oliver strongly discourages rushed filing in an attempt to circumvent Trump policies. Not only will these changes be incremental, but there is currently no guarantee that rushed filing would actually help in any way, and in fact it could harm one’s chances of the application being approved.
In the best scenario, his America First policies could expose the key role foreign investment–whether it be through funding or talent–brings to the nation’s economy. For example, his plans to propose high tariffs on product imports could inadvertently encourage EB-1C immigration–the transfer of high-level employees from one country to another–since competitive talent is hard to find.
If Trump looks to find measures to offset some of the economic limitations of America First policies, he could place more focus on improving immigration programs that bring talent and funding into the US economy. This is also consistent with a previously proposed bill from his first administration that never passed.
Ultimately, Oliver Yang and his esteemed associates at Reid & Wise can only make so many predictions about Trump’s influence on business immigration. While it may be impossible to evade the impact of a new president, Oliver is looking for the silver lining in this situation, as he hopes to witness a future where foreign talent and investment are the lifeblood of the American economy.
“Ideally, I hope by rooting out fraud and bad actors, Trump will improve case processing and optimize immigration procedures. But I’m also bracing for the possibility that there will be short-term roadblocks for certain programs that highly-skilled immigrants find great value in. Overall, lawyers must do their best to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of business immigration to provide their clients with the most accurate, effective support,” Oliver says.
