President Biden released an extensive memorandum on the United States and artificial intelligence, providing further guidance on the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence issued on Oct. 30, 2023.

Key Points:

  • The memorandum fulfills directives established in last year’s AI executive order. Highlights from that executive order related to the hiring of foreign national employees included taking appropriate steps to streamline visa processing and facilitate the availability of visa appointments for non-U.S. citizens seeking to come to the U.S. to work on, study or conduct research in AI or other critical and emerging technologies.
  • The memorandum provides further direction on how the U.S. can advance its leadership in AI, harness AI to fulfill national security objectives and foster its safety, security and trustworthiness.
  • The memorandum requires the following:
    • On an ongoing basis, the Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security shall each use all available legal authorities to assist in attracting and rapidly bringing to the United States individuals with relevant technical expertise who would improve U.S. competitiveness in AI and related fields, such as semiconductor design and production.
    • Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers shall prepare an analysis of the AI talent market in the United States and overseas, to the extent that reliable data is available.
    • Designated executive departments and agencies shall convene within 90 days and explore actions for prioritizing and streamlining administrative processing operations for all visa applicants working with sensitive technologies.

Additional Information: Read the complete memorandum with itemized directives here. A classified annex to the memorandum was also created to address additional sensitive national security issues, including countering adversary use of AI.

BAL Analysis: No immediate change in visa processing or procedures is expected at this time. BAL will continue to monitor for updates related to how the government might prioritize and streamline visa and administrative processing for high-skilled applicants working in AI and other critical and emerging technologies.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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