A second Trump administration will begin on January 20th. A Trump administration, based on stated plans, and lived experience from 2016-2020, presents a sea change from the past four years. The impact of a Trump administration could be profound on company workforce in terms of employees losing work authorization, challenges with international travel, increased costs for pursuing work authorization, unpredictable compliance demands, and anxiety induced in certain workforce groups. Here are our expectations for what will take effect and how companies and executives should prepare.

Immigration Impact

• The Trump administration will use its executive power to end as many discretionary immigration programs as possible, including Temporary Protected Status classifications (TPS) and DACA. Companies with large workforces of lawfully documented foreign employees in these statuses will see disruption as employees lose work authorization.
• In the first Trump Administration, the first director of the USCIS, Francis Cissna, effectively tweaked dozens of policies to make immigration programs more complicated, challenging, and unpredictable. We expect that skilled administrators will repopulate the agency and they will intentionally throw wrenches into the gears. This will create:
  • More requests for evidence and the associated costs of responding
  • Greater uncertainty for the outcome of petitions
  • Longer processing times
  • Increased anxiety for foreign employees
• Political targeting of companies based on grudges and political disputes. We expect that companies may be targeted for immigration compliance audits, denials, and litigation based on how companies and key executives relate to the Trump administration politically.
• The administration may use its regulatory power to pursue changes that do not require new laws from Congress, including:
  • Shortening STEM OPT work authorization periods
  • Ending H-4 work authorization for certain spouses
  • Changing the H-1B lottery to be conditioned on wages or other factors, rather than random selection
  • Significantly increase prevailing wages for H-1B, H-2, H-1B1, E-3, and green card processes
• Greater uncertainty may make sponsored foreign employees less likely to seek changes of employer
• Travel bans and international travel challenges may ensue, making it more difficult for foreign employees to pursue foreign travel and for foreign talent (including business visitors and consultants) to enter the US

What Companies Can Expect From a Second Trump Administration (Cont’d)

How to Prepare

• Complete internal compliance audits to assess compliance risks and set paths forward to ensure continued compliance adherence
• Prepare for larger immigration budgets in 2025 and beyond
• Prepare to support anxious foreign employees by conveying how the company will support employees and relay changes with the advice of counsel
• Assess the company’s exposure due to political advocacy and political affiliations of notable leaders or investors. Based on this assessment, allocate funds to defend potential spurious, but nonetheless challenging investigations and litigation.
• Apply for benefits such as extensions, green cards, and citizenship, as early as possible to evade unknown policy changes.
• Keep in regular touch with your Meltzer Hellrung team to stay abreast of changes and strategies.

How Meltzer Hellrung Will Help

• If the second Trump administration looks anything like the first, managing fear and anxiety are as important as any policy or legal analysis. We will be here to monitor changes, advise on strategy, and provide zealous advocacy and careful reassurance to those impacted.
• Use our resources and professional affiliations to stay ahead of the curve, as much as possible.
• We will share alerts and updates as quickly as possible via email, Voyager, our website, and social media.
• We will provide in-depth analysis in regularly scheduled calls and webinars.
• With Voyager, we can track all foreign employees at your organization, regardless of whether or not they have company sponsorship. This will allow us to advise on issues impacting any part of your workforce.
• We are prepared to litigate challenges in Federal court, should the need occur.

Meltzer Hellrung challenges conventions to deliver better outcomes. Founded with the belief that immigration can be a strategic advantage, we understand the complexities of immigration and respond with innovative solutions to meet business and talent needs. Our unique solution – skilled immigration professionals delivering responsive service to clients through Voyager®, our proprietary immigration management platform, delivers the best immigration experience to companies, employees and their families.

11.6.24