Today, U.S. President Donald Trump amended a previously signed Executive Order (“EO”) extending the current immigration ban to specific non-immigrant visa applicants from entering the United States. The updated EO, formally known as the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak”, was originally signed on April 22, 2020 to bar certain immigrant visa applicants from entering the United States becomes effective immediately and is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020. The EO now suspends the entry of any individual seeking to enter the United States as a non-immigrant who:
- Is outside the United States on the effective date of the EO;
- Does not have a valid non-immigrant visa as of June 22, 2020, and
- Does not have a valid travel document (such as a transportation letter, boarding foil, or advance parole document) issued prior to the EO.
Specifically, the EO targets the following non-immigrant visa categories:
- H-1B Skilled Laborers and H-2B Seasonal Workers;
- J-1 Intercultural Exchange for those seeking visas as interns, trainees, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs, or summer work travel programs;
- L-1 Intra-Company Transfer Visas
The EO will not bar non-immigrant visa applicants seeking to enter the United States to perform temporary labor “essential services” regarding the U.S. food supply under H-2A Agricultural Visas. Other non-immigrant visa categories including E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor Visas, B-1/ B-2 Visitor Visas, H-3 Training Visas, J-1 for Foreign Physicians and F-1 Student Visas are likewise exempted.
For more information on the EO might affect your non-immigrant visa adjudication, contact us at info@enterimmi.com and speak with one of our U.S. immigration lawyers in Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Taipei.