Today, President Trump signed an executive order curtailing H-1B, H-2B, H-4, L, and certain J visas, as well as immigrant visas, through December 31, 2020: “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak”.
Limited exemptions may be provided for those working in the food supply chain, as well as limited national security exemptions as determined by the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security. Also exempted under Sec. 4(a)(i) are persons providing medical care for COVID-19 patients or conducting medical research to combat COVID-19. With regards to J visas, professors, alien physicians, and research scholars appear to be exempt.
The proclamation applies only to persons who are outside the United States and who do not hold a valid non-immigrant visa or official permission to travel as of June 24, 2020.
The full text of the proclamation is available here. Our office is actively working with our partners to better understand the scope of this proclamation, and will update this post as new information becomes available.