Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced a new Executive Order (EO) on immigration today. The new EO limits six nations (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) will be restricted for entry to the US for 90 days and thereafter under heightened scrutiny. Iraq is specifically excluded. The order will not go into effect until March 16, 2017.
This will apply to individuals from the six nations who:
- are outside the US as of the effective date (March 16, 2017) of the order
- did not have a valid visa as of 5 pm EST on January 27,2017; and
- do not have a valid visa as of the effective date of the order (March 16, 2017).
This will not apply to anyone with a green card or valid visas issued prior to March 16, 2017.
The Visa Interview Waiver program is also suspended with exemptions for diplomatic or diplomatic-type visas, NATO visas, C-2, G-1 through G-4 visas; or traveling for purpose related to an international IOIA- designated meeting
The EO also calls for additional uniform screening and vetting standards for all immigration programs, including accelerating biometric entry-exit tracking, and a realignment of the UW Refugee Admission Programs for FY 2017, including a suspension of applications for the 120 days after enactment. Additionally, the EO will limit the number of refugees allowed to enter the US to 50,000 for FY 2017.
Read the Presidential Memo on the Executive Order.
Related to the Executive order, USCIS announced on Friday a “pause” on processing all premium H-1B applications received on or after April 3, 2017. This includes all visa not subject to the cap. There is no indication when the pause will be lifted.