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Getting a green card will soon take longer

Kim Hart, author of Cities

AP

It will soon take longer to get an employment-based green card, thanks to a new policy announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday that requires applicants to have an in-person interview to be cleared. Adding the extra hurdle will draw out an already slow process that employers and applicants have long complained about.

Why it matters: Usually, green-card applicants who are sponsored by an employer as part of a work visa — especially those on high-skilled work visas — are able to get the interview waived, helping to speed up the vetting process. That process (without an interview) already takes nearly a year, according to USCIS data.

The move is part of the Trump administration's interest in "strengthening the integrity of our nation's immigration system" by creating more robust vetting procedures, Acting USCIS Director James McCament said in a statement.

High-skilled frustration: The added hurdle for green cards will likely frustrate companies like tech firms that say they need workers with specialized skills from abroad to meet their labor needs. Tech firms argue they wouldn't have to rely on H-1B visas (which the Trump administration would like to restrict) if the process for employment-based green cards wasn't so arduous. As of Oct.1, the process will take more time.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 4: Trump turns on Barr

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Drew Angerer, Pool/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. Axios takes you inside the collapse of a president with a special series.

Episode 4: Trump torches what is arguably the most consequential relationship in his Cabinet.

Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

Go deeper (6 min. read)Arrow
Rebecca Falconer
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Protests outside fortified capitols draw only small groups

Armed members of the far-right extremist group the Boogaloo Bois near the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing on Jan. 17. About 20 protesters showed up, AP notes. Photo: Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

Small groups of protesters gathered outside fortified statehouses across the U.S. over the weekend ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday.

The big picture: Some protests attracted armed members of far-right extremist groups but there were no reports of clashes, as had been feared. The National Guard and law enforcement outnumbered demonstrators, as security was heightened around the U.S. to avoid a repeat of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots, per AP.

See photos (<1 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
9 hours ago - World

China's economy grows 6.5% in Q4 as country rebounds from coronavirus

A technician installs and checks service robots to be be used for food and medicine delivery in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China, on Sunday. Photo: Hu Xuejun/VCG via Getty Images

China's economy grew at a 6.5% pace in the final quarter of 2020, the national statistics bureau announced Monday local time, topping off a year in which it grew in three of four quarters and by 2.3% in total.

Why it matters: No other major economy managed positive growth in 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was first detected in China, the country got the virus under control and became one of the main positive drivers of the global economy even as the rest of the world was largely under lockdown.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow