The health crisis caused by the global Coronavirus pandemic

The world is going through a sanitary emergency unprecedented in the recent history of mankind. The arrival of the global Coronavirus pandemic and its massive outbreak was sudden, took us by surprise and forced governments to adopt emergency measures to mitigate the impact of the health crisis, although stopping the spread of the virus was practically impossible due to to its high level of contagion through human contact.

Most countries used preventive measures such as quarantines, the closure of both land and air borders and recommended the population to wear masks and have social distancing to intercept the massive outbreak. Adding to that, hundreds of companies decided to work remotely and send their employees home to prevent the spread of the virus within their facilities.

Other than that, there are governments that implemented different strategies, some more lax and others more strict. That is the case in the US, which has been the main epicenter of the global Coronavirus pandemic for more than 9 consecutive months.

The Trump administration’s restrictions on employment-based visas

The massive outbreak of COVID-19 in the North American territory was alarming and the number of people infected grew exponentially in a matter of weeks. Therefore, the local unemployment rate also skyrocketed and affected multiple sectors of society as we know it.

Thus, in an attempt to lower the unemployment rate and protect American workers in times of crisis, the current administration of the US, led by President Donald Trump, substantially limited the issuance of employment-based visas.

At the end of June 2020, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on work visas such as the H-1B visa for highly qualified foreign workers, visas for relatives of foreign workers, J-1 visa for exchange programs, L visas for inter-company transfers, inter alia. Some visas are exempt from these restrictions, such as those related to the US food supply chain.

The Trump administration stated that these restrictions would be in effect until 2021, more specifically until December 31, 2020.

However, since President Trump has always openly expressed his intention to reduce immigration at all costs, activist groups and immigrant rights advocates stated that his administration was using the health emergency as an excuse to limit business immigration.

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The Trump administration evaluates the possibility of extending restrictions on work visas

The Trump administration’s restrictions on employment-based visas are supposed to expire on the first day of 2021, that is, tomorrow. However, according to an NPR report, the Trump administration is discussing about whether to extend these restrictions or not.

Despite the fact that hundreds of local companies assure that foreign workforce is absolutely necessary and essential for the country to overcome the economic crisis brought by the global Coronavirus pandemic, the Trump government could still extend these restrictions, using the current unemployment rate and American workers as support.

The Trump administration has not commented on the matter and may announce its decision over the course of the next week.

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