Will the Partial Travel Ban Affect Employee Relocation?

The Supreme Court delivered a mixed ruling on Monday, June 26, 2017, that allows President Trump to implement the travel ban against six countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — but only for travelers with no "bona fide" relationship to the U.S. Those that have established ties will be allowed to continue entering the country, and the justices provided examples of who may enter the country, including when a U.S. business has given a job to a worker from one of the targeted countries. 

NuCompass Vice President, Knowledge & Experience, Cara Skourtis, says, "This appears to be positive for immigration as it relates to employee relocation, since the Court upheld the suspension of the ban for foreign nationals with a relationship with a person or entity in the United States. As with the prior executive orders and subsequent suspensions, the practical application of the ruling over time will indicate the ease or difficulty of the previously affected population being able to enter the United States."

The global mobility industry orgnaization, Worldwide ERC®, recently issued the following press release on the topic:

Supreme Court Allows Partial Travel Ban to Take Effect

Arlington, VA— On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order to allow the implementation of parts of an executive order signed by President Trump to temporarily suspend foreign nationals from six countries from entering the U.S. Based on the facts of the case, the Court formed a distinction between nationals who have "a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States" and all other foreign nationals. The Court upheld the suspension of the ban for foreign nationals who have such a relationship, including individuals employed by a company in the U.S.

In its order, the Court did not rule on the legality of the executive order and stated the Court will hear arguments when it convenes for the October Term 2017. In the meantime, the Trump Administration may suspend from entering the U.S. those foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who do not have a relationship with a person or entity in the U.S. The suspension may also apply to the admission of refugees from the six countries.

The President issued the revised Executive Order (No. 13780), Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, on March 6 in response to courts halting implementation of his initial Executive Order (No. 13769) on the travel suspension. In his revised order, the President made several changes to the initial order including exempting green card holders. Both orders had an effective period of 90 days for foreign nationals and 120 days for refugees. The Administration could put the partial suspension into place beginning on June 29.

Key Reference for the Workforce Mobility Industry
While the revised executive order had exempted foreign nationals with green cards and visas, the Supreme Court order cites as an example the travel suspension should not apply to those foreign nationals who have "accepted an offer of employment by a U.S. company."

 For more information, visit www.WorldwideERC.org.