Biden Admin Renames ‘Aliens’, Rescinds Move to Curb H4 EADs

The Biden Administration has proposed the word ‘Alien’, the official term for immigrants in the US, be renamed.

US President Joe Biden

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/ The Quint)

In a relief to spouses of foreign national workers in the United States, on Tuesday, 26 January, the Biden administration withdrew its predecessor’s proposal to rescind an Obama-era regulation that allowed spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States.

A majority of H1-B visa holders and their spouses are of Indian origin.

This move is expected to save the jobs of tens of thousands of H4 visa holders who are currently working in the United States after being given employment authorisation.

The Biden Administration has also proposed that the word 'Alien', the official government term used to refer to immigrants in the US, be renamed.

Replacing it with the word “noncitizen” has been proposed as part of the President Biden’s sweeping immigration overhaul bill that was sent to Congress this week under the US Citizenship Act of 2021.

“Words matter. Our work to turn our immigration system into a humane one that treats all immigrants with dignity and respect starts here. No immigrant is an alien,” tweeted Indian-American lawmaker, Pramila Jayapal.

In the Bill sent to Congress, the Biden administration stated that it “recognises America as a nation of immigrants by changing the word ‘alien’ to ‘noncitizen’ in our immigration laws.”

If passed by Congress, the word “alien” would no longer be the official government term for a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.