Following the chaos resulting from President Donald Trump’s tweet last week on Monday night  in which he proposed the temporary suspension of all immigration to the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he formally issued a Proclamation, which provides for a narrow and temporary suspension of certain immigrants coming to the United States for a 60-day period.     

The Scope of the Proclamation

The Proclamation went into effect at midnight on April 22, 2020, and narrowly and temporarily applies to foreign nationals who are applying for immigrant visas at US Consulates abroad to enter the United States as permanent residents.  It puts a 60-day pause on the processing of their immigrant visas.  The basis for temporarily suspending admission of permanent residents to the United States is to support the economic recovery of the US labor market following the COVID-19 outbreak.  Given that US Embassies worldwide remain closed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Proclamation will not change much for now. 

Here is a list of who will be affected by the Proclamation: 

1. Parents of U.S. citizens.

2. Adult children of U.S. citizens.

3. Spouses and children (regardless of age) of lawful permanent residents.

4. Individuals selected in the annual green card lottery.

5. All employment-based immigrant visas, except EB-5 investor visas.

6. All other immigrant visas, unless specifically exempted.

The following categories of immigrant visa applicants are specifically excluded from the scope of the Proclamation: 

1. Current lawful permanent residents.

2. Any foreign national physician, nurse or other healthcare professional seeking admission as an immigrant to perform work or research related to COVID-19.

3. EB-5 investors.

4. Spouses and minor children of US citizens. 

5. Members of the Armed Forces and their spouses and children.

6. Foreign nationals whose admission would further important US law enforcement objectives or are in the national interest. 

7. Special Immigrant Visa applicants in the SI or SQ categories (Afghanis or Iraqis who worked for the US government in Afghanistan or Iraq). 

It should be noted that the Proclamation may be extended beyond 60 days. 

For the time being, because the Proclamation only applies to individuals seeking admission from overseas as immigrants, applicants for nonimmigrant visas, such as a F-1, H-1B, J-1, L-1, O-1, or TN, are not affected by the Proclamation.  That said, all Embassies are currently closed so no one is getting a visa processed barring emergency circumstances.  It is unclear at this time when US Consulates will reopen for visa processing.  

Immigration Processing in the United States

The Proclamation has no impact on nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions being filed and processed within the United States with the Department of Labor and USCIS.  While the current suspension of face-to-face services at all USCIS field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers is causing a delay in adjudicating adjustment of status, asylum and naturalization applications, USCIS has announced that it plans on resuming services on June 4.  Petition processing that does not require face-to-face service continues.    

Litigation to Halt Implementation of the Proclamation?

Since President Trump issued his Proclamation, immigrants’ rights groups have been thinking about challenging the Proclamation in federal court.  Given how the previous bans have been upheld by the Supreme Court, a successful challenge to the Proclamation seems unlikely, especially because the Embassies are closed right now for all visa processing anyway.  

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact me if you would like to discuss this development further.