The White House has released a set of recommendations the administration believes will improve the Nation’s immigration system. One of the recommendations involves the Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin is a document issued each month by the State Department that informs of the current visa processing dates for the various types of visas which include family and business based visas. There are various visa categories within the family and business based visa groups and the length of time for processing depends on either the family relationship or the ability of a worker or type of investment. The administration proposes to change the way that visa availability is predicted and to take steps to prevent visa retrogression. Visa retrogression occurred when the processing dates actually regress backwards in any given month.
Another suggestion is to not wait until the final quarter of the fiscal year before issuing the visas available by law. The State Department will make efforts to issue as many visas as allowable by law in the first three quarters, thus allowing family members and employees to immigrate sooner.
Looking at the EB5 Investment program that leads to permanent residence, the administration proposes to allow individuals to obtain a visitor visa in order to be able to visit potential investment spots in order to conduct due diligence. Of course, the individual would have to otherwise be eligible for a non-immigrant visitor’s visa.
The administration also proposes improvements to the U visa and T visa which provide benefits for victims of crime and human trafficking.
Other recommendations include improvements to the Violence Against Woman Act to allow victims of domestic violence who apply for an immigrant visa to obtain work authorization during the pendency of their applications so they can support themselves.
Click here for a link to the White House proposals.
