While overt travel bans like those we saw during the first Trump Administration (Trump 1.0) have not yet been implemented, we anticipate they could be introduced in the coming months. However, even prior to any actual bans, travel will continue to carry some inherent risk, which might be heightened based on one’s individual circumstances. The increased risk stems largely from the significant restrictions and increased scrutiny that travelers will be subject to at U.S. consulates and ports of entry based on the President’s directives requiring enhanced vetting and screening of all noncitizens seeking entry to the United States across agencies including the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of State (DOS).
Read MorePresident Trump Signs Executive Order Temporarily Suspending Most Consular Immigrant Visa Processing
Tonight, President Trump signed and Executive Proclamation titled “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak.” The Proclamation, which take effect at 11:59 pm ET on April 23, 2020, and will initially last 60 days, temporarily suspends the issuance of most Immigrant Visas, which allow individuals to enter the United States as Lawful Permanent Residents.
Read MoreExecutive Order Temporarily Halting U.S. Immigration
Late last night President Trump tweeted that he would be issuing an Executive Order (EO) temporarily banning all new immigration to the U.S. Despite some speculation as to the content of the EO, we won't definitively know the nature, scope, and timing of the ban until the EO is released. D&S is monitoring this very closely and will provide an update once any new information is made available by the government.
Update: In his daily briefing this evening, Trump has said that the EO will suspend immigration for 60 days and will apply only to those seeking Permanent Residence, not to those on nonimmigrant visas. We continue to await the actual EO, which the President has indicated should be drafted and signed tomorrow (April 22) and will provide updated information at that time.
USCIS Delays Implementation of NTA Policy Memo
USCIS has announced that the Policy Memorandum (PM) titled “Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens” which directs USCIS to issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) when denying certain applications for benefits has been temporarily suspended in order to allow for the issuance of operational guidance regarding implementation of the new policy.
USCIS did not provide a timeline for when the NTA Issuance policy will ultimately become effective and D&S will continue to monitor this situation closely.
UPDATE: On September 26, 2018 USCIS announced that it would be rolling out implementation of the NTA Policy Memo starting on October 1, 2018, after which time USCIS may issue NTAs on denied status-impacting applications, including but not limited to, Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.
USCIS has indicated that it will send denial letters for status-impacting applications that ensures applicants are given adequate notice when an application for a benefit is being denied. If applicants are no longer in a period of authorized stay, and do not depart the United States, USCIS has stated that it may issue an NTA.
USCIS has further stated that the NTA Policy Memo will not be implemented with respect to employment-based petitions and humanitarian applications and petitions at this time. Existing guidance for these case types will remain in effect.
USCIS Issues Policy Memo Limiting Use of TN Economist Classification
This week the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced the issuance of a new Policy Memorandum titled “TN Nonimmigrant Economists Are Defined by Qualifying Business Activity.” The memorandum is part of USCIS’s effort to align its adjudication practices with the directives of the President's "Buy American, Hire American" Executive Order and seeks to clarify, and limit, eligibility for TN nonimmigrant status under the occupational category for Economists. In particular, the memo states that, for purposes of TN classification, the profession of Economist must not primarily include the activity of other occupations, including, but not limited to, those performed by Financial Analysts, Market Research Analysts, or Marketing Specialists, and notes explicitly that those three specialties do not qualify for TN visa issuance.
Read MoreD&S Update: Delay of Effective Date of Final Rule on Parole for Start-Up Entrepreneurs
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an update to the Federal Register postponing the effective date of the Final Rule on Parole for Start-Up Entrepreneurs until March 14, 2018.
Prior to the postponement, the rule was set to become effective next week, on July 17, 2017. Once effective, the rule would permit DHS to grant parole to qualified foreign entrepreneurs on a case-by-case basis where the entrepreneur can demonstrate, substantial and demonstrated potential for rapid business growth and job creation and that they would provide a significant public benefit to the United States.
According to DHS, this delay will provide an opportunity to obtain comments from the public regarding a proposal to rescind the rule pursuant to the Trump Administration's January 25, 2017 Executive Order, ‘‘Border Security and Immigration Enforcement".
Comments are due by August 10, 2017.
D&S Immigration Update: SCOTUS Partially Lifts Injunction on Trump Administration's Revised Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”
Today, Monday, June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review the currently pending challenge to the Trump Administration’s Revised Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” this fall. In the interim, the Court announced that the current injunction on the travel ban is too broad and, thus, the Court is allowing the ban to go into effect for foreign nationals from the 6 majority Muslim countries who lack any bona fide relationship to a U.S. person or business interest.
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