Executive Order Impacts Hong Kong

On July 14, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization. In brief, the text of the Executive Order includes a number of immigration-related provisions which seek to suspend or terminate various provisions of U.S. immigration law deriving from the Hong Kong Policy Act enacted by Congress in 1992. The Hong Kong Policy Act sought to provide stability to Hong Kong by allowing the United States to continue to treat Hong Kong separately from Mainland China for purposes of bilateral relations, commerce, transportation, cultural and educational exchanges, visa allocations and certain other matters after the 1997 handover of sovereignty to China.

The new EO seeks to take away benefits currently enjoyed by citizens of the Hong Kong S.A.R., such as shorter wait times for immigrant visas, the ability to apply for Fulbright scholarships, and exemption from complex “export control” regulations applicable to the PRC.  With regard to shorter wait times / country of chargeabilty changes, speakers at a recent virtual conference hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (“AILA”) confirmed the Visa Office is still reviewing this matter, but noted Section 103 of IMMACT90 granted separate chargeability treatment to Hong Kong born individuals and that the proclamation does not alter this.