Let's talk about the Stimulus Package and the Omnibus Bill
that was just signed into law by the President a couple of days ago.
In this video, I want to focus specifically on how this bill applies to immigrants,
and how it's going to impact people that are going through the immigration process in different
categories. We also want to talk about who's going to get the stimulus check and who's not.
So, welcome to my Immigration channel. This is a place where we talk about immigration news,
immigration updates, education about different visas, everything you need to know to make your
immigration journey less of a crazy experience. My name is Jacob Sapochnik. I'm an immigration
attorney based in San Diego, California, and I help immigrants in all 50 states. If you’re here
for the first time, don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Click that bell to be notified every
time I release a video. We do videos every single week. And also, give us a big like
so YouTube will be able to recommend this video to more people just like you. On December 21, 2020,
Congress passed a spending bill to fund the government all through September 30, 2021. In
addition to that, there was a COVID relief package in that bill. On December 27, the president
signed this bill into law. So, let's talk about how this bill impacts, specifically, immigration.
One of the most important things that that bill did is extend some immigration programs
that were about to expire. And the programs are the following. The EB5 investor regional center
program was extended until June 30, 2021. It was set to expire in December. The E-verify program
was set to expire also this year, and it was extended all the way through September 30, 2021.
Also, the Special Immigrant Religious Worker program was extended through September 30, 2021.
The Conrad 30 program for physician immigrants was also extended through September 30, 2021. And
finally, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program was also extended all the way through
December 20, 2021. In addition, the bill extends the number of H1B visas
beyond the 66,000 allocated for the fiscal year, it extends it beyond that. And again,
the reason is because there is definitely a labor shortage. There's more need for
construction workers, workers in hospitality, as our economy continues to rebalance.
And so, the bill extends, specifically the H2B visa program beyond the limited 66,000 visas
that we have per year. And finally, in the COVID relief package, the stimulus package, the program
that is issuing the checks. So finally, in the COVID relief package, the stimulus package,
this time, the checks are also going to be issued to mixed families. Mixed families are
families that at least one person in the family is filing taxes and has a social security number. So,
for example, if there's a family that has one US citizen, and the spouse is undocumented,
has no social security, but they're both filing taxes together. Under the previous CARES act,
that family was completely excluded from the stimulus package. Under the new stimulus package,
such families that at least have one taxpayer are going to be eligible to get to receive
checks. In addition to that, such families are going to be able to get retroactive relief
under the CARES act. So, in this case, if those families did not receive checks, under the CARES
act, under the new stimulus package, they will receive not only the new check, the $600 check,
but also they're going to get a retroactive relief from payments that they were entitled to in the
past. And this is going to be huge for so many families that are mixed families, that have one
who's a taxpayer and the other person is somebody who doesn't have social security,
or is here in the country undocumented. This is all we know right now. But most individuals who
are eligible are going to be receiving a check of $600. There are talks about increasing this
amount but for the moment, this is what it is. And it's based on your income. Essentially, the amount
is calculated based on your income as it appears on your most recent tax return. But once again,
what we understand right now is that Congress may change this amount from $600,
up to $2,000. If that happens, of course, we'll update you. But that's going to make a big
difference for a lot of families, including immigrant families that are now included
in this stimulus package. So, once again, hopefully, this information was helpful
as it applies specifically to immigration. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.
Make sure you subscribe to our channel. Don't miss any of our videos.
I make sure to get a video at least once a week. And if you want to have a consultation with me,
make sure you text this number, you'll be able to set up a consultation with me to discuss
your individual case. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in our next video. So,
if you liked this video, watch these two videos for more information just like that.