To ease inflation and the ongoing shortage of workers in the U.S., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggests doubling the level of legal immigrants into America. The need for workers would ease the continuing supply chain issues that are driving the spike in inflation, including the need for truck drivers. As more stores are reporting empty shelves, the need for workers is being felt across the country. Immigration would slow inflation, as a result.
The Chamber CEO reinforced the issue is immigration, not issues of competition or market concentration. The Biden administration recently proposed a plan to increase competition to reduce rising meat prices, including increasing regulation and a heavier hand in the review of market abuses.
In 2020 and 20201, immigrants living in the U.S. decreased substantially as a result of the COVID pandemic. Visa processing at embassies and consulates globally came to a near standstill. As a result, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of immigrants in the U.S., and a backlog of more than 460,000 people with unprocessed visas at the end of 2021.
In addition, permanent residents coming to the U.S. also dropped significantly. For Fiscal Year 2020 (Oct 2019 to Sept 30, 2020), an estimated drop of 45% of immigrant visas was seen. For nonimmigrant visas over the same time period, a drop of 54% was seen.
ILBSG continues to monitor updates to processing and policies for immigration. If you have questions about your immigration-related issue, contact us anytime. We work with you to ensure you get the right advice for your specific situation.
