047: 2020 End of Year Immigration Recap

In this episode of Immigration Law for Tech Startups, I recap the unprecedented year of changes to U.S. immigration policy.

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Despite all the changes this year, no new immigration legislation was passed in 2020. In fact, Congress has failed to enact any new immigration laws for decades. All of the immigration policy changes this year have come through executive proclamations and orders, administrative rule changes, policy memos, and legal challenges to new policies and immigration enforcement. 

The outgoing administration threatened to end several immigration benefits and programs that ultimately failed. And despite all the changes and proposed changes that have made immigration more challenging, a few good things came out of 2020 with respect to immigration.

Immigration is never easy, but it’s always possible! Please share this episode with investors, companies, startup founders, family, or anyone who can benefit from it. Reach out to us. We can help you determine your best immigration options whether you’re in the U.S. or abroad.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

  • What immigration programs Trump threatened to eliminate this year
  • The good things that happened this year in immigration
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
  • The H-4 EAD program
  • Diversity green card
  • Birthright citizenship and anchor babies
  • What are the social changes impacting immigration within the startup ecosystem
  • President-elect Biden’s proposed changes to immigration
  • Executive orders and proclamations in 2020
  • Public charge rule
  • Policy changes that impacted international students 
  • The genesis of my nonprofit, Community for Global Innovation
  • The biggest changes to the H-1B lottery process
  • How you should approach the next H-1B lottery

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast.

Resources:

Immigration Options Chart

All About H-1Bs

Immigration Law for Tech Startups

Episode 9: What Makes a Strong H-1B Petition

Episode 11: Your Startup’s First H-1B

Episode 39: Startup Law with Lindsey Mignano

Episode 43: What a Biden Victory Means for Immigration

Tech Crunch Dear Sophie columns

“Would a Trump win abolish the H-1B visa lottery?”

“Now that a judge has paused Trump’s H-1B visa ban, how can I qualify my employees?”

“What does the new online classes rule mean for F-1 students?”

“How will President Trump’s order ‘suspending immigration’ affect me?”

”Is unemployment considered a public benefit?”

Register for Founder Law’s Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp to learn the best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

Get Founder Law’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

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The wrong immigration strategy can cost you years of progress and mounting legal fees. Founder Law has spent over two decades guiding the tech industry’s top talent and the companies building around them.

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