NewsFlash! Trump Amends Proclamation to Increase Number of Nonimmigrants Subject to Executive Order

Last night, President Trump amended his June 22, 2020 executive order in a small, but significant manner that clarifies and potentially increases the classes of nonimmigrants who are subject to the order. The original version of the executive order stated that, if a foreign national had any type of nonimmigrant visa as of the effective date (i.e., June 24, 2020), that person was not subject to the order. This has been amended with a clarification that having a valid visa on the effective date of the order only exempts the person if the nonimmigrant visa is “… of any of the classifications specified in [the executive order] and pursuant to which the alien is seeking entry…”

In other words, the order does NOT apply to any foreign national who had any valid nonimmigrant visa “stamp” as of the effective date, but only if the visa is of the same nonimmigrant category for which the person requests admission.

To illustrate, here are two examples of how the executive order applies.

• Raj was outside of the United States on June 24, 2020. He has a valid, unexpired H1B visa in his passport, and wishes to enter in H1B status. The executive order will NOT prevent Raj from being admitted in H1B status.
• Karthik was outside of the United States on June 24, 2020. He has a valid, unexpired B-2 visa in his passport, and wishes to apply for an H1B visa and request admission in H1B status. The executive order WILL prevent Karthik from being admitted in H1B status.

This amendment to the executive order does not impact any of the other criteria in the original order. As previously discussed, one of the notable exceptions to the executive order is that it does NOT apply to any foreign national who was in the U.S. as of June 24, 2020.

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