On the evening of April 22, 2020, President Trump signed a proclamation temporarily suspending issuance of immigrant visas for permanent residence in the U.S. for 60 Days.<\/p>\n
The Proclamation, described by the White House as a \u201ctemporary pause,\u201d only<\/em><\/strong> suspends issuance of new immigrant visas for entry into the U.S. as permanent residents.\u00a0 Temporary, nonimmigrant visa applicants (i.e<\/em>., H-1B, L, E, etc.), and current permanent residents (Green Card holders) are not affected.\u00a0 Foreign nationals already in the U.S. are also not mentioned in the proclamation.<\/p>\n There are also further exceptions, including:<\/p>\n The suspension will expire in 60 days but \u201cmay be continued as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n The proclamation also notes the possibility of future \u201cadditional measures,\u201d including a review of nonimmigrant\/temporary visa programs to \u201cstimulate the United States economy and ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of United States workers.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, while announcing the proclamation at Wednesday evening\u2019s coronavirus briefing, President Trump emphasized that he wants to protect American workers and will consider other actions. We are most concerned with this particular announcement since it opens the door to further restrictions which may have a direct impact on our clients.<\/p>\n As we noted yesterday<\/a>,\u00a0this measure, in its current form, is largely symbolic <\/em><\/strong>and does not <\/em><\/strong>greatly affect immigration in the long term.\u00a0 In addition, since all embassies are closed for immigrant visa processing, the effect of this order is extremely limited . Further, any drastic measures are likely to be delayed by court challenges.<\/p>\n SW Law Group will continue to monitor this closely and watch for any \u201cadditional measures,\u201d and immediately post updates.<\/p>\n\n