The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 made a significant change away from the strict policies implemented by the Trump administration to deal with the constant flow of migrants appearing at the Mexico border. There has been a literal flood of new applicants wanting asylum into the United States away from their native country. The former administration policy was to follow the letter of the law, but the Biden policy quickly shifted to ignoring the established policy and moving them into regions of the U.S. like New Jersey. Along with the new attitude of tolerance, the new legislation ends some former bans.
Religion is no longer an issue
One of the first issue is a ban on potential immigrants who were of Muslim faith. Trump had set this restriction in place via an executive order. This stipulation no longer applies to any immigration applicant.
Pathway to citizenship
Another issue that was addressed was prior difficulty in becoming a U.S. citizen. The 2021 law now sets forth a designated path for those who are granted temporary legal residency status for five years with the potential for a citizenship approval after the initial time period based on good behavior.
Restructured family and employment exceptions
One of the prior methods of obtaining legal residency in the United States was based on family connection. This allowance is also updated in the Act along with more tolerance for workers who are needed in certain industries. Employer sponsorship requirements were lightened for H 1-B visas, which was an immigration policy priority under the former law.
This shift in immigration acceptance will assuredly impact how the courts act when cases come through the system. However, there has recently been an alteration of the policy for new migrants showing up at the border due to the Jan. 1, 2021 stipulation for new applicants.
