On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order titled “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers” that requires when possible the US government to “procure goods, products, materials, and services from sources that will help American businesses compete in strategic industries and help America’s workers thrive.” Additionally, President Biden’s order revokes former President Trump’s April 18, 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” (BAHA) executive order that required various governmental agencies to propose new rules and guidance in regards to the US immigration system that would “protect the interests” of American workers.

Attorney Cyrus Mehta explains:

BAHA was issued on the false premise that immigrants took away American jobs and were a threat to American workers. BAHA also falsely believed that immigration is a zero sum game where the presence of an immigrant in the US displaces a US worker…The BAHA executive order explicitly highlighted the H-1B visa program and directed the agencies to ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most skilled and highest-paid beneficiaries even though there was no basis to do that in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The USCIS began to deny routine H-1B and L-1 visa extensions in the name of BAHA.

A report by the non-profit National Foundation for American Policy confirmed that after the BAHA order, H-1B denials and Requests for Evidence (RFE) significantly increased. As Mehta writes, the BAHA order impacted the US immigration system in numerous other ways:

After the BAHA order, US Embassies/Consulates begin questioning visa applicants if their entry would comply with the BAHA order;
The BAHA order resulted in regulations meant to discourage legal immigration to the US, including the new pending H-1B lottery rule and the DOL wage rule that would dramatically increase prevailing wages.
USCIS rescinded a policy granting deference to prior successful adjudications based off the BAHA order;

The Trump administration previously celebrated many more “achievements” based on BAHA, many of which resulting in curbing legal immigration. With the rescission of BAHA, Mehta writes that “those who received denials of visa petitions or applications that cited BAHA can potentially use that as a basis to challenge them in court or through additional administrative review.” He adds: “The rescission of BAHA should also pave the way for new progressive laws and policies that view immigrants as an asset to the nation rather than a threat, which in turn will benefit both immigrants and America."