UPDATE: Will Biden Reverse Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052?

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick gives you the latest immigration update regarding President Biden’s plans to reverse Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052 passed under former President Donald Trump.

Want to know more? Keep on watching for more information.

Overview

First, let’s recap Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052. What are these Proclamations all about?

Presidential Proclamation 10014

Back in April of 2020, former President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10014 which imposed a 60-day ban on the issuance of visas at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad and limited the entry of certain aliens.

Among those impacted were the following classes of immigrants applying for a visa at a United States Consulate or Embassy abroad from April 23, 2020 to the present:

  • Spouses and children of green card holders (US citizens were not affected) applying at the consulate
  • Parents of US citizens applying at the consulate
  • Brothers and sisters of US citizens applying at the consulate
  • Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of US citizens applying at the consulate (children under 21 years old of US citizens were not affected)
  • Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of green card holders applying at the consulate
  • Diversity visa lottery winners
  • EB1A extraordinary abilities and their family applying at the consulate
  • PERM EB3, PERM EB2, NIW employment based and their family applying at the consulate
  • EB4 religious workers immigrants applying at the consulate
  • H1B and H4 dependents applying at the consulate
  • L1 and L2 applying at the consulate
  • J1 applying at the consulate  

*Due to the issuance of Proclamation 10014 those in the categories listed above have not been able to obtain a visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy since April 23, 2020.

Those who are not impacted by P.P. 10014 include the following:

  • Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S.
  • Aliens who are the spouses of U.S. Citizens
  • Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and any spouse and child of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces
  • Aliens under 21 years of age who are children of United States Citizens and prospective adoptees
  • Aliens seeking to enter the U.S. on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional
  • Aliens seeking to enter the U.S. to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19
  • Any spouse any unmarried child under 21 years of age of any such alien who is accompanying or following to join the alien
  • Any alien applying for a visa pursuant to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
  • Aliens whose entry furthers important United States law enforcement objectives
  • Any alien seeking entry pursuant to a Special Immigrant Visa in the SI or SQ classification, and any spouse and child of any such individual
    • SI: Certain aliens employed by the U.S. Government in Iraq or Afghanistan as translators or interpreters
    • SQ: Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government
  • Any alien whose entry would be in the national interest of the United States (national interest waivers)
  • Aliens seeking entry for asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Presidential Proclamation 10052

To further prevent Presidential Proclamation 10014 from expiring, on June 22, 2020, Trump signed P.P. 10052, which immediately extended P.P. 10014 until December 31, 2020 and added new limits on visa issuance and entry for H-1B, H-2B, J, and L nonimmigrants starting June 24, 2020. P.P. 10052 is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021.

In addition to the restrictions of P.P. 10014, P.P. 10052 suspended entry and visa issuance for H-1B, H-2B, J visa interns, trainees, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs, summer work travel applicants, L visa applicants, as well as all aliens accompanying or following to join these categories of immigrants. Those affected included nonimmigrants who were outside the U.S. on the effective date of the Proclamation (June 24, 2020) and did not have a valid nonimmigrant visa or official travel document as of its effective date.

When do Proclamation 10104 and 10052 expire?

These Proclamations will expire on their own on March 31, 2021, however if the government does not act quickly some aliens will lose out on applying for a green card forever.

What is President Biden doing about these Proclamations?

While President Biden issued a Proclamation to end former President Trump’s discriminatory bans on entry to the United States, including the Muslim ban, he has not yet addressed Proclamation 10014 nor 10052. While it was widely reported in the media that the President would be taking action to rescind this set of Proclamations he has not yet done so.  However, we may reason to believe that the Biden administration may be making a decision on these Proclamations very soon.

Where do we stand today?

Last week, attorneys representing those impacted by the Proclamations filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for relief for those who have been unable to obtain visas and enter the United States. See Anunciato et al. v Biden et al. A status hearing has been scheduled for this lawsuit on February 18th where the judge will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the government from continuing to enforce the Proclamations.

DV lottery winners in particular have unfortunately been the most impacted. Without government intervention, hundreds will lose their chance of applying for a green card forever.

In response to the lawsuit, the Assistant U.S. Attorney issued a status report confirming that the Biden administration is actively reviewing the restrictions imposed by Proclamation 10014. The report further stated that the Biden administration will be providing an update as soon as they have reached a decision on whether to rescind the Proclamations, so that the Court may take its decision into consideration when ruling on the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

For their part, more than 174 organizations signed a letter urging the Biden administration to rescind these Proclamations once and for all.

Even if the Biden administration does not act, we remain hopeful that the court will issue a preliminary injunction to help resolve these issues. It is also important to highlight that the Proclamations will terminate automatically on March 31, 2021.

Questions? If you have immigration questions and would like to schedule a consultation, please call 619-819-9204 or text 619-483-4549.

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