This week, the House Appropriations Committee pushed forward a revised Department of Homeland Security funding bill, which now includes several amendments prioritizing immigration.  The bill includes $52.81 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, which includes USCIS, ICE, and CBP.

The final bill includes several provisions which would provide much-needed relief for nonimmigrant and immigration visa applicants impacted by both Covid-related delays and restrictive immigration policies from the previous administration. Lawmakers voted to include the following provisions:

  • An amendment that would allow unused diversity visas from FY 2020 and 2021 to remain available into next year (offering significant relief to DV lottery winners who were not able to attend visa stamping due to Covid related consulate closures and delays)
  • An amendment allowing family-based and employment-based visas to continue to remain available in FY 2022 and beyond until they are used (unused family-based visas are typically added to the employment-based cap for the next year instead, which can result in significant movement for employment-based as we saw last October.)
  • An amendment allowing expired diversity visas to be revived and made available to those who were denied admission based on former President Trump’s Muslim bans
  • An amendment that would allow for an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for seasonal workers, by providing the Secretary of Homeland Security with the authority to make additional H-2B visas available
  • An amendment allowing H-2A temporary farmworkers to use their H-2A visas next year, regardless of whether their work is seasonal or temporary in nature

The revised bill represents a continued shift towards more immigration-friendly policies, which we have seen the current administration prioritize since taking office. The House Appropriation Committee approved the DHS funding bill by a vote of 33-24, which will next head to the floor for a full vote. The bill will have to be reconciled with an eventual Senate appropriations bill for the department, where immigration-related provisions are likely to become a point of contention.

ILBSG continues to monitor these developments and will update our clients as the DHS funding bill progresses in Congress. If you have questions about any immigration-related issue, contact us at any time. We are here to help ensure you get the right advice.

dhs DHS Bill immigration