Summary of President Trump’s Proclamation Limiting Some Immigrant Visas for 60 Days

President Trump’s April 22, 2020 Proclamation Affecting the Issuance of Immigrant Visas for 60 Days

In recent days, President Trump announced certain limitations on individuals entering the U.S. in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, when the presidential proclamation was released by the White House earlier today, on April 22, 2020, the restrictions placed on immigration were much less broad than what was feared.

Below is a summary of the critical points in the proclamation. The proclamation takes effect on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 11:59 PM (EST), and places a 60-day “pause” on the issuance of some immigrant visas at Embassies overseas for individuals not in the United States on the effective date.

Of critical importance, the proclamation does not affect individuals already physically present in the United States, who are applying for Adjustment of Status within the United States.

Individuals applying for an immigrant visa overseas may be affected, but only if they apply for their Immigrant Visa during the duration of the 60-day immigrant visa “pause” period. (Practically speaking, this would be unlikely in any case, as Embassies around the world are currently closed due to the coronavirus outbreak).

Moreover, the following categories of immigrants are not subject to the Trump 4/22/20 proclamation even if they are seeking to enter the U.S. from overseas during the 60-day “pause”:

1. Nonimmigrant Visa Holders (such as tourists, students, exchange visitors, H-1B, E-2, L-1, TN and other work visa holders)
2. Lawful permanent residents (LPR)
3. Individuals Applying for an Immigrant Visa who are Spouses or Children (under 21) of U.S. Citizens
4. EB-5 Investor Immigrants
5. Healthcare Occupation Immigrants
6. Individuals whose entry would be in the national interest (such as NIW immigrants).

Further proclamations and tweets from Trump may be forthcoming, but for now, the immigrant visa limitations announced on April 22, 2020 are relatively narrow in scope.