On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order regarding immigration policies and enforcement amidst the COVID-19 pandemic titled “Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak” (the “Executive Order”). As we discussed with President Trump’s previous executive orders here, his orders may have a sweeping effect on immigration as a whole; however, employment-based immigration processes are not overtly changed. Below is a brief summary of some of the key provisions of this Executive Order.
Brief Overview
Effective Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST, entry by immigrants into the United States is suspended for the next 60 days. This suspension could be extended further but will need to be done so in the next 50 days. The suspension will apply only to foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States as immigrants who:
- Are outside the United States;
- Do not have a valid United States visa; and
- Do not have an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil or an advance parole document) that permits him or her to travel to the United States.
However, there are a number of exceptions to this suspension. In particular, a few of these exceptions apply to medical professionals. For example, the suspension does not apply to:
- Any already legally permanent resident of the United States; or
- Any foreign national seeking to enter the United States on a visa as a physician, nurse or other health care professional; to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak;
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- Any spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old of any such foreign national who are accompanying or following to join the foreign national.
This suspension does not currently apply to nonimmigrant visas, though the order mandates that within 30 days of the effective date of this Executive Order the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security will review nonimmigrant programs and will recommend further measures.
Analysis
For the purposes of our health care immigration clients, these two exceptions should be reassuring. The Executive Order is limited and most likely does not impact H-1B workers who are already in the United States, or individuals who seek admission to the United States in valid H-1B status. Further, H-1B physicians and health care professionals that are combating COVID-19, are exempted from the President’s Order.
The scope of this Executive Order is focused on immigrants, and it is not likely to hinder the ability of the healthcare sector to hire or retain foreign talent. With the inclusion of the mandate to evaluate nonimmigrant processes, it is likely that additional policies may be put into place in the coming months to restrict the entry of foreign nationals into the United States.
Practical Takeaways
This Executive Order represents a tightening of immigration policies and enforcement stated to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Clients should be aware of the Order and in particular, the two provisions outlined above when considering their hiring practices. As of right now, the ability to provide employment-based immigration services to our clients has not been affected, though we will continue to monitor any new policy changes. We anticipate many questions and concerns regarding immigration issues in the days ahead, so please do not hesitate to contact us.
For more information, please contact:
- Michael Kim at (317) 977-1418 or mkim@wp.hallrender.com;
- Lindsay Ramsey at (317) 429-3637 or lramsey@wp.hallrender.com;
- Charlotte Fillenwarth at (317) 977-1476 or cfillenwarth@wp.hallrender.com;
- Grace Shelton at (317) 429-3620 or gshelton@wp.hallrender.com; or
- Your regular Hall Render attorney.
Hall Render’s attorneys and professionals continue to maintain the most up-to-date information and resources at our COVID-19 Resource page, through our 24/7 COVID‑19 Telephone Hotline at (317) 429-3900 or by contacting your regular Hall Render attorney.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
