This is a guest article written by Dr. Carmen Falcone. You can read more about her and the motivations for this report in the accompanying interview.
**News updated on July 14th. Things may change fast, so please always contact your immigration attorney or the international office at your institution to get the most updated news.
US PROCLAMATION SUSPENDING THE ENTRY OF IMMIGRANTS
The White House has recently issued an executive proclamation suspending entry of certain immigrants on June 22nd. This proclamation will be valid until December 2020.
This proclamation has shed confusion and mental pressure on thousands of international scholars already present in the US or outside the US while in the process of applying for a visa.
What does this executive proclamation say? Which are the affected visas? Can people with legal visas travel back to the US if they are currently outside the country? How is this proclamation related to the previous COVID-19-related travel ban issued in March?
I am going to summarize some of the main information here. You can find useful links and contacts at the bottom of this article, and always remember to contact the international office of your institution or a lawyer to get information on your specific case.
DIFFERENT VISAS FOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS
There are two main categories of visas: non-immigrant visas (temporary visas), and immigrant visas (also referred to as “green card”, or permanent residence).
International scholars at earlier career stages (students and postdocs) usually apply for non-immigrant visas when they first move to the US. Within non-immigrant visas, different types of visa can be issued: F-1 or M-1 (usually for students), J-1 (for postdoc and other types of non-student appointments, e.g. junior specialists; J-1 can be renewed for a maximum of 5 years), and H-1B (for postdoc and other types of researchers/specialists, several scholars apply for H-1B after the J-1).
Working permits associated with each non-immigrant visa (e.g. a form called DS-2019 is associated with J1 visas) are issued through the University, and allow researchers to legally work in the country. Visa stamps are instead approved and provided by US embassies and consulates in researchers’ home countries. If you are not a citizen or a green card holder, and if you are willing to enter the US to work in this country, both working permits and visa stamps are needed to cross the borders.
So, how does this recent proclamation affect each of these different visas and how?
IMMIGRANT VISAS (Green card)
If you are applying for a green card from the US, starting from another valid visa, you are not affected.
If you are applying for a green card from outside the US, instead, you are affected (you cannot get your green card and thus cannot enter the country).
NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS:
- H-1B
H-1B is among the most affected visas of this proclamation. As for other non-immigrant visas, the situation can get dramatically worse if you were out of the country at the time of the proclamation.
For example, if you are applying for a new H-1B from outside the US, you are affected and will not be able to get a new visa, thus not allowed into the country. You may ask your university to switch to an alternative visa that is not affected by this proclamation.
If you have a valid H-1B at the time of the proclamation and you are currently out of the US, you should be able to re-entry (see COVID-19-related travel bans, below).
If you are in the US with a valid H-1B, you can stay and work. If it is going to expire while this proclamation is still active, you can still ask for an extension and get another work permit while remaining in the country, but better to not travel outside if you do not have a valid H-1B visa stamp on the passport. Even with a valid work authorization, it is not clear if they will be issued a new H-1B visa stamp, thus it is highly discouraged to travel out of the country to apply for a new H-1B stamp on the passport. You might not be allowed to travel back to the US.
Finally, if you are in the US with a valid J-1 visa and you applied for a H-1B visa, you are not affected and you should be able to get your H-1B.
- J-1
J-1 affected categories are: Intern, Trainee, Teacher, Camp Counselor, Au Pair, or Summer Work. If you have a J-1 in any of these, you are affected like the H-1B and your visa will follow the same rules (e.g. if you are out of the country, you cannot get a new J-1).
The good news for academics is that most of the J-1 visas issued for researchers fall within the following categories: Research Scholar, Short-Term Scholar, Professor, Specialist. These J-1 categories are not affected. This means that- wherever you are- you can apply for these types of J-1 and you will get your visa and will be able to travel in and out of the country. If you are currently out of the US and have a J1 valid stamp, you can still come back in (but again, see COVID-related bans below).
- H-4 AND J-2 (aka H-1B and J-1 dependents)
All the dependents follow the same rules as the visa they depend on.
- F-1/OPT and M-1
They are not affected by this proclamation.
SOME EXEMPTIONS
Any workers involved in food supplies or national interest-related work (e.g. COVID-19-related research, medical care, and others, not specified), you can apply for a waiver to be exempted from the ban, and still come to the US, even with a visa affected by the proclamation.
Canadian citizens are not affected by this proclamation.
APRIL COVID-19 TRAVEL BAN (still active)
Although most of the researchers with valid visa stamps on their passports are not affected by this proclamation, they should all take into account the COVID travel ban proclamation when considering traveling out of the country or when trying to travel back to the US. This proclamation from April 2020 is still banning people (all the non-citizens and non-immigrant visa holders) from re-entering the US if you have spent the previous 15 days in specific countries. This list is endless (e.g. all the European Schengen area, UK, Iran, China, Brasil are included).
For example, if you have a valid J-1 visa and you are currently in one of these “banned” countries, you cannot directly fly to the US, you would have to spend 15 days in a non-banned country before getting admitted to the US. Therefore, even though some J-1 researcher visas and H-1B visa holders are not affected from this proclamation, they are currently stuck in or out of the US because of these travel limitations.
US EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE STILL CLOSED/SLOWED DOWN
Another important issue to consider is the availability of US embassies and consulates around the world during a pandemic. Most of them are still closed and it is not known when they will re-open for routine visa interviews. This depends on the rate of COVID-19 infections in each country. Even when they will reopen, it will be highly likely they will be overwhelmed and slowed down by the numerous requests during the past months. Take all this into consideration when planning your future travels to the US and check your consulate website often!
Consulates are scheduling emergency visa appointments. There are exemptions for urgent entry, Department of State can review these requests for emergency travel documentation through embassies. These types of visa appointments follow rules which are specific to the consulate (check your consulate website!).