WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has urged the US Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform, a move which would provide a path to citizenship to not only illegal immigrants but also those who entered the country legally, like those on H-1B visas.
In the 118th Congress, where the Opposition Republicans enjoy a majority in the House of Representatives, such an ask might not be an easy one.
Biden acknowledged it indirectly though.
“If you won’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border,” Biden said in his second State of the Union Address before a Joint Session of the US Congress.
“And a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers. Here in the people’s House, it’s our duty to protect all the people’s rights and freedoms,” said the President amidst applause from the Democratic lawmakers of the Congress.
Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who enter the US as children with parents.
Millions of illegal immigrants are looking for a pathway to citizenship, and so do a large number of those who entered the country legally with visas like H-1B and are having years waiting for a Green Card.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.