President Trump just released a Proclamation, suspending the admission of foreign national workers on H-1B, H-2B, J and L visas and their accompanying dependents through December 31, 2020, in response to high U.S. unemployment.  The Proclamation also extends the suspension of immigrant visas further to his April 22 Proclamation through the end of 2020.  This Proclamation will take effect on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. 

Specifically, the categories of temporary workers affected by this Proclamation are:

• H-1B, which are high-skilled workers;

• H-2B, which are seasonal non-agricultural workers;

• J-1, which cover interns, trainees, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs, and summer work travel programs; and

• L-1, which are executives, managers and workers with specialized knowledge of international companies.

The Proclamation only applies to foreign nationals who are outside the United States and who do not have a valid nonimmigrant visa for admission when the Proclamation takes effect.  

Foreign national workers in H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 status and their accompanying dependents who are presently in the United States will not be affected by this Proclamation.  Likewise, foreign nationals applying for permanent residence in the United States will not be affected by the extended suspension of immigrant visas at US Consulates abroad.

The Proclamation specifies exceptions for workers essential to the US food supply chain and the “national interest.”  The Proclamation defines work in the national interest to include the following:

• Defense

• Law enforcement

• Diplomacy 

• National security

• Provision of medical care to those hospitalized due to COVID-19

• Medical research to fight COVID-19 

• Necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States. 

Children who will turn 21 and therefore risk losing their immigrant visa as a “child” during this suspension also should be considered as an exception.  

The Proclamation closes with instructions to the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security to review employment-based immigrant visa processing and the H-1B visa program to ensure that US workers are not disadvantaged. 

We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as soon as possible. 

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