Trump Visa Suspensions Renewed
On New Year’s Eve, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation renewing the suspension on new H, L, and J visas. The suspension has been extended to March 31, 2021. Employers still seeking to bring in out-of-country H-2B workers for the U.S. winter season will continue to require an exception to the proclamation in order for their visas to be granted. The new Proclamation will not affect summer-season H-2B employers. During the campaign, President-elect Biden has said he would overturn immigration policies of the Trump Administration, but has not specifically indicated he would do so for H-2B visas.
Pelosi Reelected Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was narrowly reelected as Speaker of the House on Sunday by a vote of 216 – 211. Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) received the second most votes. The vote demonstrates the tightrope Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic Leaders will have to walk in order to pass legislation over the next two years. There was some COVID-19-related controversy in the vote as Representative Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) had been quarantined due to a positive test result just six days ago, but flew to Washington anyway to cast her vote for Pelosi.
Georgia Senate Election
The runoff elections for the two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia comes to a merciful end this week. Recent polls show Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff running ahead of incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue respectively, though the margins are razor thin. A record number of Georgians have either voted by mail or early in-person voting ahead of Tuesday’s in-person voting. If both Democratic candidates prevail, control of the Senate will flip to Democrats who will hold 50 seats with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris deciding in the event of a tie.
Webinar: Real Estate Tax Assessments for Clubs – What We’ve Learned of Late
Tax assessments can often be confusing. On Thursday, January 14 at 2 p.m. ET, join Larry A. Hirsh, president of Golf Property Analysts, for an in-depth review of the fundamentals of private club real estate tax assessments and a discussion of COVID-19’s effect on club real estate values and tax assessments. Register here.
Registration is free for NCA members and $99 for nonmembers.