Who is impacted or exempt from Trump's new immigration ban?

Agricultural workers are considered "essential" and are exempt from the immigration ban.

The executive order temporarily curtailing the issuance of certain immigrant visas affecting thousands of would-be immigrants was signed by Donald Trump Wednesday (April 22) as details were revealed by the White House. 

The 60-day "pause" for immigrants was spurred by huge spike of unemployed workers caused by the shelter-in-place mandates to battling the cornavirus pandemic that has taken 40,000 lives in the US.

Trump's immigration order is being seen as another attempt to further attempt  to implement his restrictive immigration reform policies, mostly aimed at slowing immigration from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Asian countries such as China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam provide the most immigrants to the US. Some immigrant applicants have to wait up to two decades for a visa.

“While the order is limited in scope, President Trump’s transparent attempt to distract from his own failures with this unwarranted suspension will cause real pain for families and employers across the country," said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

Attorneys at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus and the Council on Arab-Israli Relations (CAIR)-San Francisco Bay Area, issued an advisory on who the new mandate will affect.

"In a blatant attempt to pit communities of color and immigrants against one another, the Proclamation exploits the record levels of unemployment caused by the pandemic, to restrict immigration under the guise of protecting workers and minorities.," said the two advocacy groups said in a statement. "Targeting immigrants does nothing to achieve economic justice and only further marginalizes and dehumanizes our immigrant communities." 

The Ban is supposed to last for 60 days (until June 22, 2020), after which it may be extended and begins 11:59 p.m. EDT today (April 23).

Following is the joint advisory (Note: Information is subject to change.):

Who is Impacted Under the Ban? 

Any foreign national seeking to obtain an immigrant visa to enter the U.S. who: 

● Is outside the United States at 11:59pm on April 23, 2020; and ● Does not have a valid immigrant visa in their passport as of 11:59pm on April 23, 2020; and ● Does not have another valid official travel document, such as a transportation letter, a boarding foil, or an advance parole document.

This means that nearly all parents and adult children of US citizens, spouses and children of green card holders, and applicants for most employment based immigrant visas will not be able to obtain immigrant visas to enter the US for the duration of this ban.

Workers considered necessary to fight the coronavirus, such as health workers, are exempt from the new rule.

The Ban does not apply to: 

● US Citizens ● US Lawful Permanent Residents (current Green Card holders) ● Individuals entering the US on non-immigrant visas ● Individuals who are present in the US and applying for adjustment of status ● Individuals entering on immigrant visas as medical professionals ● Those seeking entry to the US to do COVID-related work, and their spouses and unmarried children under 21 years old ● Individuals seeking to enter on the EB-5 Immigrant Investors Program ● Spouses and children under 21 years old of US Citizens ● Individuals “whose entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives” ● Members of the US Armed Forces and their spouses and children ● Nationals of Afghanistan and Iraq who are entering the US on Special Immigrant Visas for having served as interpreters for the US Armed Forces, and their spouses and children ● Those seeking asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) ● Anyone whose entry is deemed to be in the “national interest”

The two agencies urges people to contact their Congressional representatives to express their opposition to Trump's orders.

For more information or to seek legal assistance free of charge, contact the organizations:

● CAIR SF Bay Area: 408.986.9874 or online at: bit.ly/cairsfbaimmigration

● Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus: 415.848.7733 or online at: bit.ly/TravelIntake