Executive Order

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By: Tieranny L. Cutler, Michelle Gergerian, and Jason Burritt

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Previously scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020, Proclamations 10052 and 10014 have been extended by President Trump until March 31, 2021. These visa bans will continue to restrict the issuance of certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, as well as travel to the United States by certain nonimmigrants, including those in H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 status.

The newly issued proclamation also provides the authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Labor to recommend any modifications as may be necessary within 15 days of December 31, 2020, and every 30 days thereafter while this proclamation is in effect.…
Continue Reading President Trump Extends Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Ban

The trend of recent months to curtail employment-based immigration, purportedly prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, continues unabated. On August 3, 2020 President Trump issued yet another executive order, this one entitled, “Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American Workers” (“EO” or “Executive Order”). The new EO focuses on federal contractors (and their subcontractors) who employ H-1B and other nonimmigrant foreign workers. While the Executive Order itself imposes no new entry or other immigration restrictions, it instructs the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), and other agencies and departments to take steps that undoubtedly will lay the groundwork to limit H-1B employment in the near future.
Continue Reading Another Day, Another Immigration Executive Order: Now Federal Contractors are Targeted

We’ve seen this movie before.

Scene 1: The President issues a proclamation in reliance on his authority to restrict the entry of certain noncitizens under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(f) so long as he asserts that allowing them in would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

Scene 2: The proclamation creates exceptions to the entry bans based on the national interests of the United States (among other grounds).

Scene 3:  Affected parties apply for exceptions; their requests are ignored or denied under opaque or nonexistent administrative procedures; and they sue in federal court.

This was the plot of the three travel-ban proclamations issued in 2017, the last of which the Supreme Court upheld in its 2018 decision, Trump v. Hawaii. After the Supreme Court’s  ruling, litigation ensued because plaintiffs in several suits alleged that the government’s actions (refusing visas under 22 CFR §§ 41.121 and 42.81) conflicted with the proclamation and the statutory authority of the Secretary of State in INA § 104. The litigation continues, having survived a government motion to dismiss, which a federal judge denied on June 5 in Emami v. Nielsen [and] Pars Equality Center v Pompeo (Pars Equality).
Continue Reading Pursuing a National Interest Exception to the Presidential Entry Bans on Economic Grounds — Not A Fool’s Errand

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The President’s Proclamation will pause the issuance of immigrant visas for those seeking lawful permanent residence (Green Card) status through consular processing at posts outside of the U.S. for the next 60 days.  This order is limited in scope and should not have a significant impact on the transfer of global talent.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation to pause the issuance of new Immigrant Visas outside the U.S. for an initial period of 60 days, taking effect at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2020.
Continue Reading It Shall be Tweeted, It Shall be Written: Temporary Suspension of Immigrant Entry

Shortly before its summer recess, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments on the Trump administration’s revised travel ban against nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The hearing is expected to take place this fall.

Further, the Court has reinstated the travel ban for the six countries, but only…

As part of the Trump Administration’s extreme vetting efforts, certain visa applicants will now be required to complete a rigorous supplemental questionnaire prior to visa issuance. The information requested in the new, supplemental questionnaire is extensive, and includes the applicant’s full travel history for the past 15 years, including locations visited, dates, and source of funds for the visit; all passport numbers; names and dates of birth of all siblings, children, and spouses/partners; complete address and dates of residence for the past 15 years; employment history for the past 15 years; and all social media handles, phone numbers and email addresses for the past five years.

The supplemental questionnaire will not be required of all visa applicants. As part of the visa application interview and screening process, Visa Officers will decide when the individual visa applicant’s background warrants additional security checks. Previous travel by the visa applicant to areas controlled by terrorist groups is expected to make it more likely that the supplemental questionnaire will be requested. The U.S. Department of State estimates that approximately 65,000 people (less than 1% of 13 million visa applicants worldwide) may be requested to complete the supplemental questionnaire each year.…

Continue Reading Extreme Vetting Measures To Include Questionnaires Asking for Detailed Travel History and Social Media Information

The order in question is the Trump Administration’s revised Executive Order of March 6, 2017 (“revised EO”). The revised EO would have temporarily restricted certain foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. The revised EO sought to resolve constitutional issues and…

On March 17, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a cable to all diplomatic and consular posts worldwide calling for the immediate implementation of heightened screening of visa applications.  Through the cable, Secretary Tillerson instructed consular posts to undertake additional screening measures based on the conclusions of the interagency working groups mandated by the President’s Executive Order.  Visa processing screens at U.S. consular posts will be more invasive and time-consuming for certain individuals, particularly those from the countries listed in the President’s most recent Executive Order and those from Iraq.
Continue Reading New Department of State Cable Implements Extreme Vetting Measures

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal judges from Hawaii and Maryland have issued nationwide Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) effectively blocking the implementation of the Trump administration’s revised travel ban, which was scheduled to take effect on March 16, 2017.

Late on Wednesday, March 15, Judge Derrick K. Watson of the Federal District Court in Honolulu issued a nationwide TRO suspending the implementation of the Trump administration’s revised Executive Order (EO) and associated travel ban. Early Thursday morning, Maryland federal Judge Theodore D. Chang issued a separate TRO blocking key provisions of the EO from taking effect nationwide. Both decisions took the position that the revised EO violates the First Amendment because it was designed to discriminate against Muslims. According to Judge Watson, even the new order was “issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion, in spite of its stated, religiously neutral purpose.”…

Continue Reading Federal Courts Temporarily Block the Trump Administration’s Revised Travel Ban

Following the challenges to the January 27, 2017 Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals, on March 6, 2017 President Trump signed a new Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.  This new Executive Order will go into effect on March 16, 2017 and includes many changes to the original order, particularly with regard to who is subject to the temporary travel ban.

The New Executive Order

The new Executive Order suspends entry of foreign nationals from countries designated by President Trump as representing a recognized threat, warranting additional scrutiny of nationals seeking to enter the United States.  The six countries included in the temporary ban are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.  The new Executive Order removes Iraq from the list of impacted countries.  In the Executive Order, President Trump indicates these countries were designated as countries of concern by the Obama administration and Congress, and he cites the Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2015 (June 2016) to demonstrate the heightened risks posed by nationals of these countries.  The Executive Order imposes a 90-day suspension on entry to the United States to allow the U.S. government to conduct a review and analysis of the national security risks.  As with the previous order, this order leaves open the possibility of including additional countries on the list.

Specifically, the suspension of entry to the U.S. applies only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who are outside the United States on the effective date of the order (March 16, 2017), did not have a valid visa at 5:00 p.m. EST on January 27, 2017, and do not have a valid visa on the effective date of the order.

As for other aspects of the new Executive Order, the Visa Interview Waiver Program will again be suspended, as it was in the previous order.  Visa applicants from all countries will need to apply in person at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.   The Executive Order confirms that no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before March 16, 2017 should be revoked, and any individual whose visa was revoked or canceled as a result of the prior Executive Order should be entitled to a travel document confirming permission to travel to the U.S. and seek entry.  In addition, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will continue to adjudicate all naturalization, immigrant, and non-immigrant visa petitions and applications regardless of nationality.

Exemption from the Travel Ban

The following groups of foreign nationals are exempt:

Lawful Permanent Residents — also known as “LPRs” or “green card holders” — are not subject to this temporary travel ban.  This includes those individuals who hold passports from any of the six designated countries.

Dual nationals — individuals from one of the six listed countries who are also a citizen of a non-designated country — are not subject to the travel ban if they seek entry to the U.S. using a passport issued by a non-designated country.

Nonimmigrant Visa Holders — provided that the visa stamp was issued prior to January 27, 2017 and remains valid.

Foreign nationals holding a valid Advance Parole document.

…
Continue Reading Revised Travel Ban: President Trump Signs New Executive Order