Travel Ban

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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

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: President Trump issued a new entry ban directly affecting foreign nationals in H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 status.  Below is a list of 20 questions and answers that have surfaced in the first 24 hours since the proclamation was published.

1.  When does the entry ban take effect and for how long?

The entry ban portion of the proclamation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2020.  The proclamation also extends a previous order that banned certain immigrant visas (i.e., green cards) from being issued by the U.S. Department of State.  Both provisions will last until at least December 31, 2020.
Continue Reading FAQ – New Proclamation Suspending Entry of H-1B, L-1, J-1, and H-2B Nonimmigrants

By Jason E. Burritt and Michelle Gergerian

Seyfarth Synopsis: President Trump expanded the order restricting travel to the United States from most European countries — the Schengen Area, specifically —  to now include the UK and Ireland.

On Saturday, March 14, 2020, President Trump revised the proclamation to suspend…
Continue Reading President Trump Adds UK and Ireland to Proclamation Prohibiting Travel from the Schengen Area as a Result of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

By Dawn M. Lurie

Seyfarth Synopsis. The Supreme Court affirmed President Trump’s authority to ban certain foreign nationals from entering the country, finding that such travel restrictions are justified based on national security concerns.

On June 26, a deeply divided Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling upholding the latest iteration of the “Travel Ban” or “Travel Ban 3.0.”  The Court held that the September 2017 order, which created the Ban and targeted individuals from mainly Muslim countries, was a lawful exercise of presidential authority (Trump vs. Hawaii).  Employers with employees from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen will now need to review travel-related risks in order to ensure continuity of business operations.  Individuals will also need to be familiar with the specific visa and entry permissions for each country while universities will need to consider foreign student-related issues.Continue Reading The Anatomy of the Travel Ban