Week of January 1–7, 2022

USCIS released data on petition, green card, and naturalization applications and denials for fiscal year 2021

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revealed processing and case completion data for fiscal year 2021. USCIS reports that roughly 69% of the 8.84 million immigration applications submitted in FY2021 were approved, while over 808,000 were denied. However, despite USCIS completing nearly 80% of the cases it received in FY2021, the processing backlog at the agency grew to more than 8 million pending cases at the end of FY2021. The first quarter of FY2021 saw the lowest number of Forms received by USCIS all year — 1.73 million. Since then the agency has received 2.18 million, 2.58 million, and 2.34 million Forms each quarter, to end the year with 8,837,718 Forms received and 6,138,799 Forms approved. An additional 8,036,142 cases remain pending in the backlog.

The year 2022 will play a crucial role in determining the immigration legacy of President Joe Biden. The Build Back Better Act reconciliation bill was expected to provide relief to unauthorized immigrants and those waiting in green card backlogs, but the recent announcement by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) not to support the bill has dimmed its prospects. The bill's failure would mean a significant setback for Biden's immigration policy. Enacting reforms in a reconciliation bill is vital for the President's legacy. The Biden administration's regulatory agenda for 2022 includes various H-1B rules. H-1B visa holders are highly skilled workers with a college degree or its equivalent who work in specialized fields. The administration aims to improve the H-1B visa program to protect American workers' interests while facilitating the entry of highly skilled foreign workers.

A law aimed at ending federal immigration detention in Illinois has hit another legal snag, delaying a change immigrant rights activists had celebrated as historic. Illinois counties cannot enter into new federal agreements allowing jails to house immigrant detainees and must end old ones in 2022 under the law signed in August by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Three Illinois counties with such federal agreements faced a Jan. 1 deadline to end contracts. While one in downstate Illinois complied last year, two others are involved in a federal lawsuit challenging the law. The case was dismissed last month, but a federal judge on Thursday granted an extension while an appeal is considered. Authorities in McHenry and Kankakee counties now have until Jan. 13. Immigrant rights activists have celebrated the law for months, saying incarcerating people awaiting immigration proceedings is inhumane and costly.

President Joe Biden needs to show "statesmanship and humility" when it comes to the US's immigration problems, which include a lack of control over the southwestern border and restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an op-ed in The Center for Immigration Studies. The op-ed also argues that Democratic attempts to gain amnesty for millions of people illegally present in the US under the Build Back Better Act (BBB) should be subject to bipartisan input. The BBB amnesty proposals have already failed three times, and include no enforcement reforms, which the op-ed suggests are sorely needed given the 10.5 million aliens present in the US illegally. Finally, the op-ed urges the Biden administration to approach immigration problems with a degree of humility and statesmanship, suggesting that his "own proposals" may be politically expedient but lacking in merit.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has struggled to process benefits applications during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general. The agency’s reliance on paper files has limited its ability to complete tasks, leading to growing backlogs and lengthening wait times for applicants. USCIS also experienced technology issues that further slowed down its work. The inspector general’s report recommended that USCIS adopt a plan to digitize its work on benefits and update its pandemic response plan to include additional technology. The agency has responded that it is already working on fulfilling both recommendations. The USCIS can currently only electronically process 17 of the 102 benefits it handles. The remaining benefits were slowed by office closures at the start of the pandemic.

A new study from Statistics Canada has shown that immigrants with both work and study experience before admission to Canada had the highest median wage one year after entry. The study revealed that those who arrived in Canada in 2018 achieved a median wage of CA$44,600, which was almost 15% higher than the median wage of CA$38,800 among the Canadian-born population for that year. Work experience, in particular, helped immigrant salaries in the first year following arrival. Meanwhile, immigrants with no prior job experience had a median pay of CA$39,300 in 2019, while those with only study experience prior to landing had the lowest median pay of CA$15,100 in 2019, likely due to the group being younger on average than their peers. Canada met its target of granting 401,000 foreigners permanent residency in 2021, with the majority of new permanent residents already in the country on temporary status.

January's colder weather in the Midwest is linked to fewer immigrants starting businesses compared to areas with warmer January temperatures, according to researchers at Iowa State University. The study showed the ratio of immigrants who are self-employed vs paid-employed was higher in areas with warmer January temperatures, such as the south of the US, where the rate was 14.5% compared to 6.5% in colder Minnesota. The data, taken from the US Census Bureau's American Community Service between 2012-2019, found that an additional 10 degrees Fahrenheit in mean January temperature was linked to a 1.46% increase in immigrant entrepreneurship. The study also revealed that high labour force participation rates correlated with lower levels of immigrant entrepreneurship.

The US Department of Homeland Security is expected to succeed in increasing its fees, which will include visa application fees paid to the State Department, as well as fees paid directly to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for various immigration benefits such as green cards, work permits, and employment-based visas. Premium Processing is also likely to be expanded for additional types of employment-based immigration benefits. However, the fee increase may not solve the problem of USCIS delays, which are viewed as operational rather than financial. In terms of the Immigration Courts, trials are predicted to continue, and the backlog may decline, but asylum backlogs are expected to increase. The end of the Remain in Mexico program and the continued use of Title 42 may make it easier to seek asylum, but there may not be enough staff to cope with the increase in applications. Finally, it is predicted that US immigration reform will not happen in 2022, including the legislative action to formalize DACA into a permanent status.

Esther Olavarria, the deputy director for immigration of the Biden administration’s Domestic Policy Council, is retiring from her position. The White House confirmed her departure but did not give a specific date for her exit. Olavarria is known for her work in reversing Trump-era immigration policies and implementing President Biden’s vision for a humane immigration system. Susan Rice, the head of the Domestic Policy Council, praised Olavarria's contributions to the Biden-Harris administration. Tyler Moran, another senior adviser on migration, is also set to leave this month after six months of service with the administration. The White House has not commented on Moran's departure.

The owners of 29 immigration and consultancy firms in Sector 34, Chandigarh, have been booked by the police for running without mandatory registration. The firms were found to be in violation of the district magistrate’s orders during physical verification, according to Chandigarh Police. All violators have been booked under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. To monitor the activities of immigration, emigration, and student visa companies, the UT administration had made it mandatory for such firms to provide their complete antecedents in writing to the police. Police sources said the companies, which do not require a licence for student visa consultancy, also provide immigration and emigration consultancy, duping innocent people.