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Morocco World
a day ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Trump Administration to Require ‘Good Moral Character' as New Criteria for Citizenship
Rabat – The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded its criteria for determining 'good moral character' in naturalization applications, deepening scrutiny on lawful behavior and positive societal contributions. Announced in a USCIS memo on Friday, the new policy requires officers to take what they call a 'holistic approach' in evaluating applicants' fitness for citizenship. This includes not only the absence of criminal conduct but also active indicators of community involvement, tax compliance, stable employment, and family ties in the US. The Trump administration's updated framework allows officers to consider 'any other acts' that deviate from what is expected of an average American citizen—even if those acts are technically legal. This marks a significant shift from previous guidelines that focused largely on criminal offenses and conditional legal disqualifiers such as multiple DUI convictions. Applicants must now show their character is 'commensurate with the standards of average citizens' in their local community. USCIS claims the goal is to reward applicants' 'positive attributes,' but immigration advocates warn it could be used to target dissent or discriminate against culturally specific behaviors. Critics argue the move opens the door to political subjectivity in naturalization decisions. Stanford University's student newspaper and the American Association of University Professors have filed lawsuits accusing the administration of targeting non-citizens who express pro-Palestinian views. 'This could increase denials by torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior,' Doug Rand, a former USCIS official under the Biden administration, told the press . USCIS has also hinted that naturalized citizens, including high-profile figures like Elon Musk or NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, could face denaturalization proceedings under the expanded interpretation of eligibility violations. Naturalization applicants, primarily green card holders with at least 3 to 5 years of US residency, must pass English and civics exams alongside moral character evaluations. This is no simple task as naturalized citizens make up over half of America's foreign-born population, wit between 600,000 and 1 million immigrants become US citizens each year. The new policy could significantly alter the path to citizenship for thousands, particularly as stringent and often scrutinized immigration enforcement remains a central theme in Trump's campaign strategy.
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump has promised $5m ‘gold card' visas. Experts say they're unlikely to ever happen
Within the first few weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump had promised to open a fast lane for wealthy immigrants to obtain legal status in the United States for $5 million. On April 3, he showed reporters a prototype for his Trump Card, which features the president's face on a gold, laminated credit card that would act as a green card. The card was going to be ready 'in about less than two weeks,' Trump said at the time. In June, the White House c reated a bare-bones website to sign up for information, promising that 'The Trump Card is coming.' Nearly one month later, it's unclear what progress the administration is making. Republicans in Congress didn't take the card into account with a recently passed megabill that overhauled immigration enforcement, nor did they even bring it up in a recent hearing on the future of visas. Legal experts are highly skeptical the administration can pull it off at all. The card would have to implement a new visa category, which the president cannot unilaterally create without legislation, raising even more constitutional questions about the president's overreach with federal immigration law. 'There's no lawful basis to do this, and if they do it anyway, they're going to get sued, and they're almost certainly going to lose,' Doug Rand, senior adviser to the former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Joe Biden, told The Washington Post. No administration has changed visa eligibility criteria since a 1990 law that forms the basis of current legal status categories, Rand said. George Fishman, senior legal fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration, told The Post that he is 'very dubious' that the White House can create a new visa pathway without an act of Congress. In February, Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the gold card would replace the EB-5 visa, which grants green cards to foreign nationals who invest at least $800,000 or $1.05 million in American businesses and create at least 10 jobs for American workers. The program raised $4 billion last year. Lutnick said the program was 'poorly overseen' and 'poorly executed.' 'If we sell 200,000 of these gold green cards it is $1 trillion to pay down our debt, and that's why the president's doing it,' he told reporters in February. But, unlike EB-5 visa holders, Trump card holders wouldn't be liable for federal income tax on income earned outside the United States — raising yet another constitutional question over how the president can try to unilaterally change tax code. 'Issuing Trump's gold cards is likely illegal, changing tax law is likely illegal, and ending the EB‑5 investor visa is likely illegal,' according to David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. 'But even supposing that the president can get Congress to act, or can evade judicial review of his actions, few high value immigrants are going to hand over their fortunes to Trump.' By June, more than 70,000 people had signed up to learn more about the card, Lutnick told the Financial Times. EB-5 visas, however, are limited to only 10,000 a year. It's unclear whether interest in the card will translate to actual applications. Many of the world's millionaires already live in the United States. There are roughly 33.5 million people outside the country with at least $1 million, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report, but only about 1.5 million non-Americans with net assets above $5 million or more, Political and financial instability and unrest will drive 142,000 millionaires out of their countries this year, according to an estimate from Henley & Partners, an immigration and financial investment consulting firm. The United Kingdom is expected to lose a net 16,500 millionaires, while the United Arab Emirates is estimated to add a net 9,800 and the United States is expected to gain 7,500. A $5 million visa 'to these people is jet fuel cost,' immigration lawyer Matthew Kolken told NPR earlier this year. He said the idea of simply buying a green card would allow the rich immigrants to 'potentially buy their way into the United States' by merely putting it on a black American Express credit card, reserved for the wealthiest customers. Immigration attorneys predict the highest demand would come from China and the Middle East, which combined have roughly 65,000 ultra-rich residents with net worths of $30 million or more, according to global wealth intelligence firm Altrata. But the White House and Treasury Department have provided few details on eligibility criteria or the application process, or how or why the Treasury Department would be involved. 'As a matter of law, it is important to remember that the president cannot unilaterally end or change the EB-5 program,' according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. That program was created by Congress in 1990 and codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act through the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 'Any attempt to eliminate or replace it requires legislative action,' the American Immigration Lawyers Association said. That would likely open a lengthy and combative legislative process, with language to be debated and approved by both chambers of Congress. That would take 'months, if not significant longer,' the American Immigration Lawyers Association said. Trump's 'gold card' project has also been under the direction of Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency with controversial loyalists Marko Elez and Edward Coristine at the helm. Elez had briefly resigned from the administration after The Wall Street Journal uncovered his now-deleted racist statements supporting 'eugenic immigration policy' and calls to 'normalize Indian hate,' among other posts on X. He was later granted access to the Social Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. Coristine, known as 'Big Balls,' also has had DOGE roles with the State Department and Homeland Security, among others. Last month, the 19-year-old programmer was hired by the Social Security Administration. They have both met with various administration officials overseeing visa and immigration services over the last several months, according to The New York Times. By mid-April, they had asked the State Department to create a system that links gold visa applicants to Homeland Security, The Washington Post reported. While the White House is looking to rewrite legal pathways into the United States, the administration has stripped legal status for more than 1 million people, including immigrants granted temporary humanitarian protections and international students. The Department of Justice is also and launching legal battles to defend Trump's attempt to redefine birthright citizenship.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Demand for H-1B visas continue unabated, with USCIS receiving 3.4 lakh eligible registrations against a quota of 85K
. The demand for H-1B visas continues unabated – with the demand far over stripping the annual quota of 85,000 (which includes Masters' Cap of 20,000). The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 3,43,981 eligible H-1B cap registrations for the fiscal year 2026 (ending September 30, 2026); of which only 7,828 were for beneficiaries with multiple registrations. The registration period was open from March 7 up to March 24. If one views this data as against that of the previous year, there is a decline –eligible registrations for fiscal 2025 were 470,342, of which 47,314 were for beneficiaries with multiple registrations. While country-wise figures are not yet released, Indian beneficiaries (those sponsored for the visa) typically account for almost 60% of the new registrations. The number of eligible registrations have fallen by 27% over the past year, more noticeable is that the number of beneficiaries with multiple registrations (aka those having more than one job offer) has significantly declined by 83%. However, this is not due to lack of appetite for H-1B workers. USCIS states, 'We believe that the decreased registration numbers for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 indicate that fraud investigations, and the beneficiary-centric selection process, have been effective integrity measures.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Complete protection with iPru All-in-one Term Plan ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo The beneficiary-centric registration system was introduced for the first time for fiscal 2025, to combat gaming of the system, where some companies acted in conduit to submit multiple registrations on behalf of the same beneficiary. Under the process which prevailed, the greater the number of registrations that were submitted on behalf of an individual, the higher his or her chances of being selected in a lottery. Now, each beneficiary is entered into the H-1B cap lottery selection process once, regardless of how many registrations were submitted on his/her behalf. If a beneficiary is selected, each potential employer (say Co A or Co B) that filed a registration on that beneficiary's behalf is notified and is eligible to proceed with filing the H-1B visa application. However, it gives the beneficiary autonomy in choosing their employer. Doug Rand, co-director at Talent Mobility Fund, points out, 'In March 2024, about 52,700 employers sought to employ about 423,000 individuals with no other sponsors, plus about 47,000 individuals with more than one sponsor. In March 2025, about 57,600 employers sought to employ about 336,000 individuals with no other sponsors, plus about 7,800 individuals with more than one sponsor.' 'Based on the law laid down by Congress back in 1990, only 85,000 of these workers can ultimately be approved for an H-1B each year. So we've gone from 5x oversubscription last year to 4x oversubscription this year. Demand remains way higher than supply!,'he added. USCIS selects more registrations than needed to meet the annual 85,000 H-1B quota, to account for cases where the sponsoring employer does not proceed with filing the H-1B application or withdraws it and also instances where the H-1B application is rejected by the agency. Thus, for fiscal 2026, it selected 120, 141 registrations to meet the annual H-1B quota. On the issue of whether there will be a second lottery in fiscal 2026, immigration experts state a clearer picture will emerge only in July or later, after the visa applications are filed for the selected beneficiaries. If the annual quota falls short, a second lottery is conducted from the existing registration pool itself. . *The count of eligible registrations excludes duplicate registrations, those deleted by the prospective employer before the registration period closed, those denied for having invalid passport or travel document information, and those with failed payments. Source: USCIS
