The US government has expanded the list of subjects within the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to allow graduates within certain subject areas to stay and work in the US for up to three years, instead of just one. 

 Some 22 new fields of study have been added to the list of subjects. These fields of study include bioenergy, cloud computing, climate science, data analytics, geography and environmental studies and mathematical economics. “The added fields of study are primarily new multidisciplinary or emerging fields, and are critical in attracting talent to support US economic growth and technological competitiveness,” a statement from the White House said. 

 The OPT training program allows international graduates from any discipline to stay in the US for 18 months and work. Graduates and students who have learned from the MINT Selective Internship (OPT) subject catalog can stay for up to 3 years. 

 This addition is part of a series of changes announced by the Government to attract and retain international talent. Another change is that international students with a J1 exchange visa are also  eligible for OPT work from the previous 18 to 36 months. Again, this only applies to STEM students. 

 The  Bureau of Education and Culture of the US State Department has also created a STEM Career Entry Research Program to facilitate the exchange of researchers and postdoc researchers with the United States for training and educational purposes. The 

  department also  plans to streamline the green card process so that applicants with advanced STEM degrees can receive national interest exemptions. 

 These announcements have been welcomed by the higher education sector. Dr Esther D. Brimmer, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators said: “At a time when US international student enrolment has

      

work visa The Biden administration's latest regulatory plans reveal that it will continue to reform the H1B visa program for professional workers, including increasing wages for these workers. According to projections from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), other upcoming changes to the H1B visa program: They will redefine the relationship between employer and H1B employee. They will establish new guidelines for employer site visits .Clarify rules for F1 students awaiting status change  to H1B. Clarify the requirement that a new amended or new H1B visa application must be filed if there are substantial changes in employment, including a new place of employment. 

 We will also see changes to current salary rules for H1B visas and the allocation of H1B visas based on salary requirements, a promise made by Biden  during the presidential campaign. But this tinkering with the H1B visa program won't be enough. U.S. population growth hit an all-time low in 2021, with virtually no movement in the 12 months ending July 1, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: The country added less than 400,000 people to the network, and as a result, for the first time since 1937, it grew by less than a million people. The reasons for this decline are 

 1) a declining birth rate as parents postpone or postpone the birth of children. 

 2) lower levels of immigration  to the United States.

 3) higher death rates due of the aging of the population .The amplified COVID pandemic only  these three causes this year last year .The specific content of a new final rule, including the  types of cases eligible for award processing, processing times, and corresponding tariffs and implementation dates, are not yet known. It is assumed, however, that the extended service will be available for applications involv

      Immigration crystal ball

2022 has finally arrived, and this year, the year of the water tiger, many prophesy a good year. But will these predictions of  fortune extend to immigrants? I am struggling to investigate the crystal ball of January 1, 2022 and this is what I predict: 

 1: There will be more deportations this year as the Joe Biden administration struggles to crush the Republicans. Talk about them "open borders". The new Mexican return policy, backed by the courts  late last year and reimplemented by the administration, is clearly the beginning of this movement. With immigrants from Central America, Africa and Haiti still trying to cross the Rio Grande across the US border without fear of the jungles of South America, the US has no choice but to stop it as much as possible. It is possible because of fear. additional flooding. I also expect more use of covert 'fast track' air deportations, for example by ICE Air flights to Haiti, Guatemala City and  southern Mexico, which started in August 2021. We also expect Section 42 to remain in effect. Especially given the surge in US COVID-19 cases. 

 2: The United States will continue to deny temporary entry to Afghans seeking entry on  humanitarian grounds. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already received more than 35,000  humanitarian parole applications from Afghanistan, while  the program has received fewer than 2,000 requests from all nationalities in the past. So I see the administration quickly closing its doors despite the plight of Afghanistan. 

 3: When it comes to immigration reform, you can see that the US Congress is still trying to convey something to the House of Representatives this election season. The 2022 US House of Representatives elections are on

         U.S. immigration policies and Biden’s proposed changes

Since President Joe Biden took workplace in January 2021, his management has acted on more than one fronts to opposite Trumpera's regulations on immigration to the United States. The measures consist of plans to boom the range of refugee admissions, hold deportation help for unauthorized immigrants who arrived withinside the United States as kids and waive the  rule of "civil service" that denies inexperienced playing cards to immigrants who ought to use public advantages along with Medicaid. A line chart displaying  the range of folks that obtained US inexperienced playing cards dropped dramatically in financial 12 months 2020 in the course of the pandemic  Biden  additionally lifted regulations set on the begin of the coronavirus pandemic, which substantially decreased the range of visas issued to immigrants. The range of folks that obtained a inexperienced card rose from round 240,000 withinside the 2d sector of financial 2020  (January to March) to round 79,000 withinside the 1/3 sector (April to June).By comparison, almost 266,000 humans obtained inexperienced playing cards withinside the 1/3 sector of financial 2019.

 Biden's biggest immigration notion but could permit extra new immigrants to go into the United States. united, even as providing tens of thousands and thousands of unauthorized immigrants  already withinside the u . s . a pathway to felony status. The sweeping regulation could create an eight-12 months pathway to citizenship for the u . s .'s expected 10.five million unauthorized immigrants, replace the prevailing own circle of relatives immigration device, overhaul commercial enterprise visa policies and boom the range of range visas. In contrast, President Donald Trump's management has sought to restrict felony immigration in numerou

President Joe Biden took office last year with high expectations and major challenges to be addressed. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced several new policies to ease burdens and bottlenecks on the immigration system throughout 2021, overturning some of the more vicious and restrictive immigration policies introduced by previous administrations. We hope to see more improvements before 2022, but expect some challenges. 

  USCIS balances have surged over the past two years, reaching more than 8 million pending cases by the end of fiscal 2021. With the closure of US embassies and consulates around the world in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the issuance of permanent residency cards by the US State Department has resulted in a staggering balance of over 9 million copies. Fiscal year 2021. Applicants lined up. About 7.5 million people are waiting for green cards for family reasons and 1.6 million people are waiting for green cards to get a job. 

 Some experts specifically view the USCIS's backlog as a "resource matter" that may require additional financial assistance from Congress. This is because USCIS is funded almost entirely by fees it receives from applicants. The  Administration is implementing a number of initiatives to address bottlenecks and delays, such as reusing biometrics for some applicants from March 2020, and restoring policies that the Trump administration has canceled to allow USCIS to rely on previous decisions for renewal requests and status renewals. I've taken some steps. . As well as expanding staff and overtime at Lockbox facilities. In the summer of 2021, the State Department also began hiring new employees. Increasing staffing and training should allow these and other improvements to continue, reducing turnaround times and increasing flexibili