Department of State Provides Guidance Following Rescission of Presidential Proclamation 10014

We are pleased to report that the Department of State has issued new guidance following President Biden’s rescission of Presidential Proclamation 10014, entitled “Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak.”

As you may recall, President Biden issued an executive order rescinding Proclamation 10014 on February 24, 2021.

The Department of State is now providing instructions for immigrant visa applicants who were previously impacted by the Proclamation.

Instructions for Immigrant Visa Applicants

Those Not Yet Interviewed: Immigrant visa applicants who have not yet been interviewed or scheduled for an interview will have their applications processed according to the existing phased resumption of visa services framework being followed by the Department of State.

How will the resumption of visa services be prioritized?

According to DOS, the resumption of routine visa services, prioritized after services to U.S. citizens, will occur on a post-by-post basis, consistent with the Department’s guidance for safely returning personnel to Department facilities.

At the moment, U.S. Embassies and Consulates are providing emergency and mission-critical visa services and will continue to do so. As post-specific conditions improve, each mission will decide when it can begin to provide additional services. Eventually each mission will gradually restore a complete resumption of routine visa services. However, Consular posts have not provided any specific date as to when they will resume normal operations.

Those Previously Refused: Immigrant visa applicants whose petitions remain valid and who were previously interviewed but refused visas due to P.P. 10014 should wait for instructions from the U.S. embassy or consulate where they were interviewed. According to DOS guidance, Consulates will reconsider cases that were previously refused because of P.P. 10014 and will inform applicants if additional information is needed from them.

Diversity Visa 2020 Applicants:

Those with Valid Visas: Those holding diversity visas issued in 2020 that are still valid may seek entry to the United States immediately, despite the visa annotation, “Entry Subject to PP 10014.”

Those with Expired Visas: Individuals whose DV-2020 visas have expired may not be issued replacement visas; however, individuals who received diversity visas in 2020 as a result of orders in the court case Gomez v. Trump may travel to the United States on an expired visa as the court ordered the government to treat these visas as though they were issued on the date P.P. 10014 was rescinded. The court did not specify for how long the visas would be considered valid. Additionally, it may be possible that the court order could be changed or modified in some important respect. Therefore, applicants wishing to benefit from the order are encouraged to travel as soon as practicable as the order could change.

National Interest Exception for DV FY 2020 Applicants with Valid Immigrant Visas

DOS has granted a national interest exception for Diversity Visa (DV) applicants for the 2020 fiscal year (DV-2020) who hold a valid immigrant visa and are subject to the geographic COVID-19 Presidential Proclamations.

In addition, diversity visa applicants for DV-2020 who were not issued visas before September 30, 2020 for any reason including P.P. 10014 will not be interviewed, scheduled, or reconsidered for visas, as those applicants were only eligible for issuance of a visa through the end of the 2020 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2020.

Diversity Visa 2021 Applicants: DV applicants for the 2021 fiscal year (DV-2021) should wait to be notified of the scheduling of an interview in accordance with the phased resumption of visa services framework.

Geographic COVID-19 Restrictions

The geographic COVID-19-related P.P.s 9984, 9992, and 10143, which suspend entry into the United States of foreign nationals who have been physically present in the People’s Republic of China, Islamic Republic of Iran, Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa, in the 14-day period before seeking entry into the United States, continue to remain in effect.

Immigrant visa applicants who are spouses or children of U.S. citizens (IR/CR-1, IR/CR-2, IR/IH-3, and IR/IH-4), as well as spouses and minor children of LPRs (F2A), are exempt from the geographic COVID-19 P.P.s.

All other immigrant visa applicants and K fiancé nonimmigrant visa applicants remain subject to these geographic COVID-19 P.P.s., unless another exception applies (such as the national interest exception).

Resumption of All Visa Services

DOS is resuming routine visa services on a post-by-post basis, following State Department guidance to safely return its workforce and the public to Department facilities. U.S. embassies and consulates will continue to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.

According to DOS, as post-specific conditions improve, embassies and consulates will begin providing additional services and will resume routine visa services completely as soon as it is safe to do so for the public and for our personnel.

Applicants are advised to continue checking website of their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for updates on what visa services are currently available.

Questions? Do you want to know whether you qualify for a national interest exception? Please contact us to schedule a consultation, by text 619-569-1768 or phone 619-819-9204.

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