Beginning as soon as Inauguration Day on January 20th, 2025, President-elect Trump could impose new immigration restrictions that will likely make the immigration sponsorship process more complicated for businesses and foreign national employees. As we wait for the president-elect to articulate his new immigration plan, employers should be proactive and ready to face new challenges. Here are a few areas in which employers and employees can expect changes:

Temporary Work Authorization for Employees

While employees with current employer-sponsored nonimmigrant status should not be impacted by the new administration’s policy changes, there is a risk that it will become more difficult to secure approval of future extensions or amendments to the employee’s status. If that is the case, chances of approval may be increased by ensuring that adequate documentation and information is provided as evidence to bolster immigration petitions. If possible, we recommend filing nonimmigrant extension petitions with USCIS up to 6 months prior to expiration with premium processing, to ensure the petitions are approved before the new administration takes office.

Employment-Based Green Card Process

Under the previous Trump Administration, there was a notable increase in denial rates for employment and family-based green card applications. Employers and individuals should expect a higher risk of PERM audits, an increase in required in-person interviews for both family-based and employment-based green card applications, a higher denial rate for reasons such as fraud and material misrepresentation, and additional reporting requirements for an applicant’s income and assets.

International Travel Restrictions

It is possible that the new Trump Administration will reinstate travel bans for individuals born in or holding citizenship in certain countries with a majority Muslim population. During his last term, President Trump restricted travel from Chad, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen. Should he reinstate the bans, the president-elect has also stated he will consider adding new countries to the list.

Employees with international travel plans should also be aware that the new administration may make changes to the nonimmigrant visa application and/or the U.S. port of entry inspection process that could impact an employee’s ability to apply for a new visa stamp and/or reenter the U.S. from international travel.

Additional Takeaways

In general, there was a notable increase in denials and delays for all types of immigration petitions and applications during the previous Trump term, and it is likely we will see similar policies under the new administration. The new administration will likely attempt to end programs such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Humanitarian Parole, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) when President-elect Trump takes office… Employers and individuals should also be prepared to comply with potentially burdensome documentation requirements. Employers might consider supporting family-based immigration filings and naturalization applications to ensure that employees remain eligible to work and in lawful status in the U.S.

In the months leading up to and following the administration change, the immigration attorneys at Ryan Swanson are available to answer questions and strategize with individuals and employers on how to prepare for potential changes to U.S. immigration under the Trump Administration.