On October 30th President Biden signed an “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence”. Within that executive order are several explicit immigration directives, as detailed below.
Emphasize streamlined processes and visa availability
- Ensure timely availability of visa appointments for individuals studying or conducting research in AI or other critical and emerging technologies as defined by the February 2022 Critical and Emerging Technologies List Update issued by the National Science and Technology Council.
- The list includes areas of study such as advanced computing, networked sensors and sensing, renewable energy generation and storage, and semiconductors and microelectronics
Domestic visa renewal
- Consider regulatory rulemaking to implement domestic visa renewals to facilitate easier visa applications for those working in AI and other critical and emerging technologies
- Extend domestic visa renewals to individuals in F-1 and J-1 status studying STEM fields
Consider Expansion of Schedule A Professions
- The Secretary of Labor shall publish a request for information (RFI) to solicit public input, identifying AI and other STEM-related occupations, as well as additional occupations across the economy, for which there is an insufficient number of ready, willing, able, and qualified United States workers.
- Schedule A professions are exempt from the PERM labor certification process, shaving at least 9-12 months off green card processing times. Schedule A professions currently only include nurses and physical therapists.
Meltzer Hellrung will continue to track the progress of the directives in this executive order and how they are implemented.
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