For the past month, the hottest question in the immigration realm has been “What can we expect after Trump is inaugurated?” Metro Chinese Weekly interviewed U.S. Practice Director Jonathan Grode and Senior Associate Attorney Matthew T. Galati regarding their insights on the question. The Article, “After the Election, What is the Next Step for Immigration?“ (“大选尘埃落定，移民何去何从”) was published on December 2nd and is available in Chinese online.
With regard to employment immigration, Grode said “Trump has clearly signaled his plans. We expect him to lead a charge for mandatory, nationwide E-Verify for all U.S. employers. We also expect that he will make obtaining the H-1B visa more difficult through higher prevailing wages and perhaps labor market tests. We think there will be more inspections and audits.” Grode indicated that potential changes to the H-1B, as well as the TN visa due to Trump’s antagonism towards the North American Free Trade Act, should spur employers to “look at Green Card options as soon as possible given the uncertainty in those visa categories.”
Galati, who leads the Firm’s U.S. Investors and Entrepreneurs Division, stated that Mainland China continues to dominate the EB-5 immigrant investor visa. Some in the industry have signaled that the Trump Administration will be very favorable towards EB-5 given that the President-Elect is himself a developer. However, Galati called for tempered enthusiasm, stating that “It is really Congress that drives EB-5’s successes. The Republicans controlled Congress before the election and will do so in 2017. Further, EB-5 is not an issue where there are clear differences in opinion between the parties. Therefore, in some respects, we think the election is unlikely to impact EB-5 specifically.” Galati also mentioned that the election will not affect EB-5 quota backlogs and that the firm stresses to clients “that they may have additional options, such as the EB-1-C Green Card, that will bestow permanent residency.”
Grode opined further that the Trump Administration is likely to increase worksite enforcement. He stated that if employers’ Form I-9 processes are not in “pristine condition” they should strongly consider working now to mitigate any deficiencies through an internal audit. Galati advised further that “We don’t know yet the full impact of Trump’s victory. I think the immigrant community should generally be prudent and cautious in exploring solutions with immigration.”
Metro Chinese Weekly is the largest Chinese-language publication in the Delaware Valley, with circulation in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The online article received over 5,000 hits within its first three days of publication and has been reproduced by several other Chinese media outlets.
