President's Immigration Proclamation

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A BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF THE TRUMP IMMIGRATION PROCLAMATION

 The Immigration Proclamation was issued yesterday, effective tonight.

To review the Proclamation, see:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-immigrants-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-economic-recovery-following-covid-19-outbreak/

A summary of the key points: 

A. The proclamation does not restrict issuance of visas.  It only restricts entry into the United States for 60 days of persons now outside the U.S. who are holders of immigrant (permanent residence) visas issued after 4/23/2020 and who are beneficiaries of only certain: (1) Employment-Based and (2) Family-Based sponsorship and (3) winners of the Diversity Lottery.  It does not restrict entry of holders of nonimmigrants (temporary) visas.

    1. The barred Employment-Based immigrant beneficiaries do not include, current permanent residents nor, among others, doctors, nurses, researchers and health care workers related to the Covid-19 field and their spouses and unmarried minor children.  Also not included are asylees and refugees,  U.S. Armed Forces personnel, persons in the national interest or of interest to law enforcement and several others.

    2. The barred Family-Based immigrant beneficiaries do not include the spouses and unmarried minor children of U.S. Citizens.

    3. The proclamation does bar entry into the U.S. of all other Family-Based immigrant beneficiaries: parents, adult children, married children and siblings of U.S. Citizens and spouses and minor unmarried children of Lawful Permanent Residences.

    4. The proclamation does bar entry into the U.S. of those Employment-Based immigrant beneficiaries not listed in (1) above.

    5. The proclamation does bar winners of the Diversity lottery.

B. The proclamation does not currently apply to nonimmigrants (temporary visas) at all. Therefore, it does not bar the issuance of nonimmigrant visas nor their use to gain entry into the U.S. by those foreign nationals typically employed by U.S. employers on work visas such as the H-1B, O-1, E-3, TN, and J-1 nor foreign national students on F-1 and J-1 visas.  Unlike immigrants, the date of the issuance of the visa - before, during or after the proclamation -  is irrelevant.  However, the government will study whether to restrict nonimmigrants in the future. 

C. The proclamation does not bar the issuance of either immigrant (or as noted above of nonimmigrant) visas during the 60 day hiatus  - only the use of those specified immigrant visas to gain admission to the U.S. by the restricted persons.  Consulates are not open currently.  Once consulates re-open, the officers can issue visas for the excluded immigrants during the 60 days but those immigrants will then have to wait until the proclamation has expired before using the immigrant visas to gain admission to the U.S.

D. The proclamation can be extended beyond 60 days.

E. Importantly, the proclamation does not restrict the filling, adjudication, or approval of domestic applications and petitions during the 60 days, i.e. those filed in the U.S. with USCIS.  Therefore, the filing with USCIS of applications for permanent residence, of sponsoring petitions by employers and family, and of applications for change to or extension of nonimmigrant work and study statuses and for employment authorization is permitted.


We hope this summary is helpful.  We will seek to update you as we learn more.