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COVID-19: POTUS issues proclamation freezing certain nonimmigrant visas through the end of 2020

  1. Original Date Announced

    June 22, 2020

    COVID-19: President issues Proclamation 10052 suspending and limiting the entry of certain nonimmigrants with H-1B, H-2B, J, and L visas, and their follow-to-join relatives through December 31, 2020. Proclamation 10052 also extends Proclamation 10014, suspending the entry of certain immigrants, until December 31, 2020.

    [ID #986]

    Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak
  2. Effective Date

    June 22, 2020
  3. Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)

    • June 29, 2020

      Proclamation on Amendment to Proclamation 10052

      On June 29, 2020, the President issued an amendment to the June 22 travel ban, amending its general provisions and adding some specificity regarding applicable nonimmigrant visas.

      View Document
    • July 17, 2020

      Amended Complaint

      On July 17, 2020, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Justice Action Center (JAC), and Innovation Law Lab filed an amended complaint in Gomez v. Trump on behalf of family-based immigrant visa petitioners, diversity visa 2020 lottery winners, and nonimmigrant employment-based visa sponsors, challenging President Trump’s April and June 2020 proclamations which effectively stopped almost all immigration to the United States.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • September 30, 2020

      Gomez v. Trump (D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01419)

      On September 30, 2020, the District Court for the District of Columbia issued a memorandum opinion and amended its September 4 order requiring the government to process Diversity Visa selectees. The amended order requires the State Department to reserve "9,095 diversity visas that the [Department] reasonably and realistically could have issued after March 20, 2020, through the end of the fiscal year," in order to avoid their expiration at the end of the fiscal year. The case is Gomez v. Trump (D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01419).

      On September 4, 2020, the District Court for the District of Columbia had ruled that DOS must make good-faith efforts to expeditiously adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa applications by September 30, 2020.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • October 1, 2020

      Order Granting Preliminary Injunction - National Association of Manufacturers v. DHS

      On October 1, 2020, the District Court for the Northern District of California issued a limited preliminary injunction blocking DOS and DHS from enforcing the Trump administration’s June 22 proclamation. The injunction is not nationwide in scope and benefits only the plaintiffs and organizations that are members of the plaintiff trade groups. The case is National Association of Manufacturers et al. v. Department of Homeland Security.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • November 18, 2020

      November 2020 Compliance Order in NAM v. DHS

      The District Court for the Northern District of California issues an order in National Association of Manufacturers clarifying the Department of State's obligations with respect to identifying who is encompassed as a class member under the court's October 1 order in the case.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • November 20, 2020

      Revised guidance for the Court Order in NAM v. DHS

      The Department of State issues revised guidance to implement the court order in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Homeland Security. The guidance clarifies which visa applicants are considered class members, provides details on appointment scheduling and adjudication at posts where regional COVID proclamations are in effect, and provides for national interest exceptions to Presidential Proclamation 10052 for class members.

      On November 18, the District Court in the Northern District of California had issued a court order in National Association of Manufacturers clarifying its October 1 order in the case. The October 1 order enjoined the Trump Administration from preventing nonimmigrant workers on H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 visas from entering the United States. The November 18 order clarifies the Department of State's obligations with respect to the October 1 order.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • December 31, 2020

      Proclamation on Suspension of Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants who Continue to Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market

      President Trump extends the expiration date of Proclamation 10052 to March 31, 2021.

      View Document
    • December 10, 2021

      Notice of Appeal - Gomez v. Biden

      On December 10, 2021, the Biden administration filed a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit, seeking to challenge the October 13, 2021 decision of the District Court for the District of Columbia which ordered the State Department to process 9,095 visas reserved for members of the Gomez class by September 30, 2022. (The case is now known as Gomez v. Biden (D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01419).

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • June 25, 2024

      Goodluck v. Biden, No. 21-5263 (D.C. Cir. June 25, 2024)

      In Goodluck v. Biden, No. 21-5263 (D.C. Cir. June 25, 2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed multiple consolidated district court decisions (including Gomez v. Biden) that had ordered the Department of State to process and issue diversity visas (DVs) originally suspended under Proclamation 10014 (and subsequently extended by Proclamation 10052 in 2020 and 2021).

      The Court held that the district courts lacked authority to order this relief because the governing statute precludes issuance of DVs after the end of the fiscal year in which eligibility occurred. The Court then declined to reach issues related to the legality of the original proclamation or of State Department policies implementing the proclamation.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
  4.  
  5. Biden Administration Action: Modified

    February 24, 2021

    National Interest Exceptions to Presidential Proclamation 10052

    Although he extended P.P. 10052, President Biden authorized national interest exceptions for certain H-1B, H-2B, J-1, L-1A, L-1B, and other travelers.

    View Document
  6. Biden Administration Action: Modified

    February 24, 2021

    Extension of Presidential Proclamation 10052

    This Biden administration policy revokes in part the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On Feb. 24, 2021, President Biden rescinded Presidential Proclamation 10014, and extended Presidential Proclamation 10052. Both had been extended by President Trump on Dec. 31, 2020.

    View Document
  7. Biden Administration Action: Expired

    April 1, 2021

    2021.04.01 Update on Presidential Proclamation 10052

    This Biden administration policy effectively revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On April 1, 2021, DOS announced that the Trump-era policy had expired and that individuals whose visas had been denied under Proclamation 10052 could now reapply.

    View Document

Current Status

Not in effect

Most Recent Action

April 1, 2021 Action: Expired 2021.04.01 Update on Presidential Proclamation 10052
February 24, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
February 24, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
April 1, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration

Original Trump Policy Status

Trump Administration Action: Presidential Orders
Subject Matter: Non-Immigrant Visas
Agencies Affected: USCIS DOL DOS

Commentary

  • AILA/AIC - Summary of Presidential Proclamation 10052 Suspending Entry of Certain Nonimmigrants

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