Washington, D.C., July 17, 2020: On June 22, President Trump signed the Presidential Proclamation (P.P.) 10052, which extended P.P. 10014 through December 31, 2020, and suspended the entry of certain permanent and temporary immigrants to the United States. The Trump administration based this decision on the fact that the additional foreign workers purportedly presented a risk to the U.S. labor market during the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and added to the ongoing employment crisis in the U.S.

Economic analyses generally demonstrate that immigration actually has the opposite effect on economic activity: immigrants stimulate job creation and boost consumer spending, bringing economic benefits to the economy as a whole. Furthermore, the Presidential Proclamation posed the possibility of actually hampering economic growth as the types of visas that the proclamation affected help address critical shortcomings in the tech sector that immigrant labor generally helps mitigate.

As a result of the recent Presidential Proclamation, anyone on an H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 visa or their dependent family members who did not hold a valid visa as of 24th June, 2020, was prevented from traveling to the U.S. through December 31, 2020.

The Presidential Proclamation led to separation of thousands of temporary workers from their families as many of them were reportedly stranded in India due to the COVID-19 related lockdown and later due to the visa ban. Family dependents who were on a visit to India since the start of the year and whose visa appointments were scheduled for March and April of 2020, had their appointments cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 closures.

After facing severe criticism over the draconian intent and haphazard manner of implementation of the Presidential Proclamation, the Trump Administration announced exceptions to the Presidential Proclamations (10014 & 10052) for certain travel by temporary visa holders whose entrance to the U.S. would be in the national interest as well as for certain dependent family members.

The amendments specifically exempted spouses and dependent children of temporary workers who are presently stranded abroad and are seeking to return to the U.S. to be reunited with the principal L-1, H-1B or J-1 visa holder.

These amendments came soon after lawsuits were filed on behalf of 174 Indian nationals. challenging the Presidential Proclamation.

Individuals seeking visa issuance must check with their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate to confirm whether or not routine visa applications are being accepted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will continue to report on updates to this proclamation and any details on future policies as information is announced.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.