Acting quickly, as he promised, Judge Ahmit P. Mehta in Gomez v. Trump, recognized the particular urgency of the Diversity Visa plaintiffs’ situation and granted them injunctive relief. Judge Mehta ordered the Department of State (DOS) to make good faith efforts to “expeditiously process and adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa and derivative beneficiary applications” and
Department of State
National Interest Exemptions to Visa Restrictions
The Department of State (DOS) has provided more details to the Consulates on the national interest exemption under President Donald Trump’s June 22, 2020, executive order.
The “Presidential Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” bars holders of certain visas from entering the U.S.…
Judge Enjoins Public Charge Rule
On July 29, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge George B. Daniels of New York issued a nationwide injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing the Administration’s Public Charge Rule during the declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rule makes it harder for foreign nationals to obtain green cards…
New TSA Protocols Seek to Ensure Health and Safety
Under the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new “Stay Healthy. Stay Secure.” Campaign, screening procedures are being changed to allow for more social distancing and to limit physical contact while still maintaining needed security procedures during the summer travel season.
In mid-April, due to COVID-19, TSA recorded its lowest travel volume ever: approximately 87,500 travelers per…
New Work Visas Suspended Under Presidential Proclamation Until End of 2020
The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visas was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to extend his previous immigrant visa restrictions and suspend issuance of certain nonimmigrant, temporary work visas until at
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Privacy Issues of U.S. Collection of Social Media Information from Visa Applicants
The Department of State (DOS) has been collecting (and maintaining) information on social media use from all visa applicants (immigrant and non-immigrant) since June 2019. The DOS’s collection and maintenance of this information is the subject of a lawsuit. Read our analysis of these issues here.
Administration Places New Limits on Chinese Journalists, Airlines
Journalists and airlines are the two latest groups affected by the deterioration in the relationship between China and the United States.
Since the “tariff wars” and the onset of COVID-19, the relationship between China and the United States has become ever more complicated.
In early May, the Trump Administration changed the I visa rules for…
New Presidential Proclamation Suspends Entry of Students, Researchers from China
In addition to the COVID-19-related travel restrictions and consular closures, Chinese graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will now face another hurdle in coming to the U.S. As of noon (EDT) on June 1, 2020, President Donald Trump’s “Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Students and Researchers from the People’s Republic…
Lawmakers Seek Additional Immigrant Visas for Doctors, Nurses to Ease Shortage of Healthcare Workers
A bi-partisan group has introduced a new bill in both the House and the Senate that would make additional immigrant visas (green cards) available to doctors and nurses. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HWRA) would ease the long wait lines for green cards that make the U.S. a less attractive alternative to other countries that…
COVID-19 Dramatically Delays U.S. Passport Renewals, Disrupts Travel
COVID-19 has changed U.S. passport renewal. In the past, U.S. citizens could renew a passport by mail if their current passport was issued on or after their sixteenth birthday and within the last 15 years, or apply for an initial passport or renew in person at a Passport Acceptance Facility (including many local post offices)…