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By Ann Fischer

Families with loved ones or companies seeking workers from overseas now could have new opportunities to enter the United States.

On Jan. 20, a new Presidential Executive Order was entered by the Biden Administration that revokes Executive Orders and Proclamations from the previous administration and allows the entry of more foreign nationals with appropriate vetting and without discrimination.

As one of his first official acts, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to abolish what was deemed “discriminatory” entry into the United States, saying that practice was a “stain” on the United States. President Biden revoked Executive Order 13780 and Proclamations 9645, 9723, and 9983. He said they “prevented certain individuals from entering the United States — first from primarily Muslim countries, and later, from largely African countries.”

The 2017 Executive Order aimed “to protect the nation from terrorist activities by foreign nationals admitted to the United States” and “to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including those committed by foreign nationals.” The United States suspended, for 90 days, the entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The United States Refugee Admissions Program was suspended.

Biden has since ordered the U.S. Secretary of State to direct all embassies and consulates to resume visa processing based on the law and COVID-19 procedures. Then, in 45 days from that January 20^th order, the Secretary of State is expected to provide a report about the number of pending visa applicants, those who were being considered for a waiver of restrictions under the previous proclamations, and how to expeditiously process those applications, the new Executive Order said.

Also, those who were denied immigrant visa applications may have their applications reconsidered or reopened, whether they will be charged an additional fee to process those visa applications and to develop a plan for the State Department for this process. This will be done without prejudice against the applicants or their country.  

The Secretary of State also will provide recommendations to improve screening and vetting activities, including diplomatic efforts to improve international information-sharing, use of foreign assistance funds to support capacity building for information-sharing and identity-management practices, and ways to further integrate relevant executive department and agency data into the vetting system, according to new Executive Order.

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