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Presidential Proclamation on Non-Immigrant Visas

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.

Deal Reached on COVID-19 Bill

As noted this morning, negotiators had been working to reach an agreement on the next COVID-19-related bill, scheduling a Senate session for this afternoon. A deal has officially been reached on the legislation.

The $484-billion measure includes, among other provisions:

  • $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of money next week
  • $75  billion for hospitals and other health care facilities
  • $25 billion for expanded COVID-19 testing as well as the development of a national strategy
  • $50 billion for SBA Economic Disaster Loans
  • $10 billion for SBA Economic Injury Grants

The bill does not include any additional funds for states and localities.

Senate Democrats are calling this package an “interim” measure, fully expecting to take up a “Phase 4” bill later this spring.

The Senate is scheduled to meet at 4 PM EDT with the hopes of passing the bill by unanimous consent.

Read more about the agreement herehere, and here.

Higher Ed Community Seeking Support for Research and Additional Funds for Institutions in “Phase 4”

As the push for a “Phase 4” coronavirus bill gains steam, the higher education community has come up with a set of requests for the still-developing package, some of which would augment provisions in “Phase 3” while others would create new sources of funding.

The broader higher education community is jointly advocating for this proposal, which would add approximately $47 billion to the Higher Education Fund that was created in the $2.2-trillion CARES Act.  The request is based on a set of assumptions that the community made in order to craft a timely proposal.

The research university community is making another push for research funding in a Phase 4 package.  In an effort to address a portion of the problems being caused by the pandemic, the group proposal calls for, among other items, $26 billion in the next legislative package to address the various needs in the research enterprise.

Broader Higher Education Community Looks to Engage with Federal Government to Address Community-Wide Challenges

Yesterday, the broader higher education community sent to Congress a series of recommendations and requests for assistance aimed at stabilizing the entire enterprise as it tries to cope with COVID-19.  The requests fall into a number of distinct categories:

  • One set of requests addresses the immediate financial challenges facing both students and institutions.
  • Another set of requests focuses on the unique circumstances that research universities face as they deal with trying to mitigate the impact on research.
  • The third set  focuses on tax-related provisions that could assist students, families, and institutions.