Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Let’s Build Back Better Together

By Chris M. Ingram, LL.M., ESQ

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On January 20th, 2021, President-Elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as Americas 46th President. The true impact of what this will mean depends on where you are coming from. This article is strictly about what Biden’s election means for immigrants living in America today and for those who are looking forward to relocating to America in the near future. I’ll not be getting into any other political issues. I’ll leave that to Fox News and CNN to cover.

President-Elect Biden coming to office will reopen the immigration pathways that have been firmly closed by our current President. For immigrants already in the U.S. on a work visa, they will soon find themselves in a much better position with regard to securing their green cards. In short, America will be open to qualifying immigrants from around the world.

Immigrants Are Shaping America

It’s an interesting thought that President Barack Obama’s father (same name) came to the U.S. from Kenya, in search of a better life, and in doing so, met and married Stanly Ann Dunham and together brought his son Barack “Barry” Jr. into the world, who eventually became President of the United States for eight years. Similarly, both Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ parents were immigrants, Donald Harris from Jamaica, and Shyamala Harris from India, who again both came to the U.S. in search of a better life. Also, President Trump’s mother came from Scotland, married Fred Trump (born U.S. but a descendant from Germany), and within one generation their son became President of the United States. Is anyone seeing a pattern here? I’ll leave you to connect the dots, but I’ll give you a clue; immigrants are shaping America.

In one generation, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris rose to the highest offices in the United States, while millions of other sung and unsung immigrants have also come to the U.S. and achieved great things. Let me name just a few:-

Immigrants Who Made America Great

Abdul Fattah Jandali from Syria was the father of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Ted Jorgensen from Denmark was the biological father of Amazon co-founder, Jeff Bezos, who was raised by his stepfather Miguel Bezos from Cuba. Michael Brin, from Russia, is the father of Sergey Brin the co-founder of Google. Note, Sergey Brin, was also born in Russia. Finally, Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, is an immigrant from South Africa. Immigrants are shaping America and have always done so. To be honest most American legends came to America with nothing but a pocket full of dreams.

America’s Greatness

America’s greatness literally comes from immigration. The only people indigenous to America are, of course, the Native Indians: First Americans. What made America great in the first place was its ability to attract people from around the world who believed that they could build a better life for themselves if they could only make it to America. At that time, America was not a nation of aristocrats (who made servants out of the working class, in Europe, with no hope of betterment), it was too new for that, so America offered the promise of possibility, the promise that if you worked hard, you would reap the harvest yourself, instead of for the landed gentry and aristocrats.

Over the last 234 years, America was literally built from scratch, from the ground up. My hometown in Northampton, England, celebrated its 831st birthday this year, so America is a very young country.

The Fourth Industrial Age

America still needs to build, and the need for talent has never been greater as we enter the Fourth industrial age of Artificial Intelligence. America has been transitioning from picking cotton to writing Artificial Intelligence computer code, and mining for Bitcoin. Where is America going to get enough Science Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) professionals to remain world-class and compete globally in this Fourth Industrial age? For the most part, as it has been from the birth of America, it has to come from immigrants to the U.S. bringing their talents.

What About Home Grown Talent?

Yes, America has and can develop homegrown talent, but the huge demand for STEM professionals simply cannot be met from homegrown talent alone. Just like any successful soccer team, they have to recruit the best players from around the world in order to compete on the global stage. If these teams only recruited talent in their local area, they’d fail.

We live in a global economy with multi-national global competitors, and the only way America can remain successful at this stage is for America to continue to open its arms to immigration worldwide. This is precisely how we got Apple, Google, Amazon, Tesla, and the like. World-class companies started in the U.S. by immigrant children. America has been pro-immigrant, but this sentiment has been changing since 9/11 and was brought to a head by President Trump with his America First’ philosophy, Extreme Vetting policy, three Muslim bans, slow-walking green card applications, and other visas he literally shut down. President Trump has aggressively tried to close the door to the very resource, that very fuel that was Making America Great – immigrants.

The Future is Bright, The Future is Biden

The future for America is bright because, on day one of being sworn in, President-Elect Biden has promised to strike down every Executive Order restricting U.S. Immigration signed by President Trump, in particular the Muslim ban.

By Executive Order, President Trump paused the issuance of new H-1B visas, which is heavily relied upon by the STEM industries because the H-1B is a graduate visa. The L-1 Intra-Company Transfer visa was also paused by Executive Order, and the Muslim ban has blocked so many gifted STEM and Business Professionals from starting their visas, and green card applications, and the Executive Order even prevented those who had applied and been approved for their green cards from actually getting their green card issued. President Trump’s “Extreme Vetting” policy made it very difficult for immigrants and lawyers to secure the visas their clients clearly qualified for.

All the Best Biden & Harris

So, yes, as U.S. Immigration lawyers we have a lot to be excited about. More importantly, our immigrant clients have even more to be excited about. Immigrants to the U.S. overwhelmingly want to make America great again since to them America was always great, flaws and all. America has been a beacon of light and possibility that has drawn and continues to draw all kinds of people from all around the world. For the last four years, it seemed like that light was made dim for us, but today as we look forward to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 the U.S. will re-open its doors to immigrants so we can get the talent we need flowing back into the country again.

A Call to Action

We have a number of clients whose cases have been paused, slowed down by wait times, or otherwise stymied, due to the current President’s Executive Orders curbing U.S. Immigration. We have roughly 70 days or so to get our cases ready so we can flood USCIS with such applications. Over the last month, we’ve doubled our staff and developed our online platform so we are already working as hard and as fast as we can to get our clients to the front of the line. We are still in the process of expanding our office and resources. We are Building Back Better with excitement. Are you ready!!!!? – If so, give us a call, send us an email, complete our online inquiry and we’ll give you our very best.

 

 
Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
[Cross Streets 4th and Wilshire]
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients.

Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank you.

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

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