Presidential Proclamation 10014 and Impact on Relocation

On June 22, 2020, in response to the pandemic's economic impact, President Trump issued a proclamation that suspended the entry of new H-1B and H-2B, L-1A and L-1B, and J-1 nonimmigrants and their spouses and children, with limited exceptions. The proclamation took effect on June 24 and will expire on December 31, 2020.

The proclamation extends the existing suspension of entries of certain immigrants through the end of the year, which was set to expire on June 22. The impact on Canadian nationals seeking admission in these categories, who are not required to obtain a visa to enter the United States, is not yet clear.
 
The proclamation further orders the Department of Homeland Security to develop more stringent regulations and eligibility criteria for the H-1B program, and certain categories of employment-based permanent residence, to ensure U.S. workers are not disadvantaged. These new regulations will likely make it more difficult to sponsor foreign nationals for H-1Bs or EB-2 and EB-3 green card categories.
 
The proclamation provides for discretionary waivers of the restrictions for foreign nationals whose entry would be in the U.S. national interest, including those who are necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued U.S. economic recovery, those involved with clinical care or research related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19, and those who are critical to the defense, law enforcement, diplomacy, or national security of the United States. Waiver procedures are expected to be developed by the State Department. They will be decided on a case-by-case basis and will likely be challenging to obtain.

On June 29, the White House amended the proclamation to clarify that foreign nationals who were outside the U.S. on June 24 and held valid nonimmigrant visas in unrestricted categories (e.g., B-1/B-2, F-1) are subject to the proclamation and may not obtain visas in suspended categories (e.g., H-1B, H-2B, L-1 and J-1) unless they qualify for an exemption.
 
Impact on Global Mobility Activity
At this time, because travel into the United States is restricted, the proclamation will have limited immediate impact on global relocation activity to the U.S. However, the recent proclamation will greatly impact employees not present in the U.S. that employers must relocate or move on assignment, as we see U.S. consulates begin to open.
 
While the proclamation does not affect foreign nationals who are already in the U.S., future regulations could make it more difficult for these individuals to change or extend H-1B status or be sponsored by their employers for permanent residence in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

It should be noted that foreign nationals who are exempt from the new proclamation remain subject to ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions, which could hinder their ability to enter or reenter the United States.

The government has not yet provided official guidance on how the new proclamation will be implemented. It has been suggested that certain key issues remain unresolved.

NuCompass will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on new developments.