COVID-19: Executive Order on Immigration Temporarily Suspends Certain Green Cards

On Wednesday April 22, 2020, President Trump signed Presidential Proclamation No. 10014, “Immigration and Naturalization: Immigrants; Suspension of Entry into U.S. Who Present a Risk to U.S. Labor Market During Economic Recovery Following 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak,” to be published in the April 27, 2020 Federal Register. Presidential Proclamation No. 10014 creates a 60-day suspension of entry for new lawful permanent residents not already in possession of appropriate travel documents and who are physically outside the United States on April 22, 2020. The proclamation creates several exceptions to this 60-day suspension, including health care workers, EB-5 investors, spouses of U.S. citizens, children of U.S. citizens, adoptees, members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and aliens whose entry is determined to be in the national interest by the Department of State or the Department of Homeland Security.

This presidential proclamation does not impact immigration processes in the United States, and it does not restrict travel for anyone with a visa or entering as a nonimmigrant (such as F-1, H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, or other visa categories). However, due to COVID-19 protocols around the world, most U.S. visa-issuing posts remain closed, and travel into the United States by foreign nationals is still restricted for persons entering from the European Union, United Kingdom, China, South Korea, and Iran.