On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued “Presidential Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak” to take effect on June 24, 2020, and remain in effect through December 31, 2020. This proclamation also extends, effective immediately, the Presidential Proclamation issued on April 22, 2020, which suspended entry of certain nonimmigrants into the United States.

This latest Proclamation suspends the issuance of visas for those individuals seeking entry pursuant to a(n):

• H-1B visa and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them
• H-2B visa and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them
• J visa, to the extent the foreign national is participating in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program, and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them
  L visa, and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them

The Proclamation will only apply to an individual identified above if they are:

• Outside the United States on the effective date of the Proclamation
• Do not have a nonimmigrant visa that is valid on the effective date of the Proclamation
• Do not have an official travel document other than a visa, valid on the effective date of the Proclamation or issued thereafter permitting the individual to be admitted to the United States

The Proclamation will not apply to the following individuals:

• Lawful permanent residents
• Spouses or children of U.S. citizens
• Individuals seeking entry to provide temporary labor essential to the U.S. food supply chain (typically holding H-2A visas)
• Individuals whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.
• Asylum Seekers

It is unclear to what extent this ban will actually affect current unemployment rates exacerbated by the global pandemic. We anticipate that U.S. Companies that rely out of necessity on foreign H-1B visa workers and L visa executives, managers, and employees with specialized knowledge will struggle to fill positions they have been unable to previously fill. The proclamation will be reviewed within 30 days and every 60 days after by the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Labor, and State to determine whether any modifications may be needed.

At Bighorn Law, we stand ready to advise U.S. companies on the requirements of these employment-based visas as well as labor certification – a process by which a company can sponsor an employee for an immigrant visa.