White House Announces Revocation of Presidential Proclamation 10014: What does this mean for you?

Source: Flickr Creative Commons License, Gage Skidmore

In this blog post, we bring you some long-awaited news. In a much-anticipated move, the Biden administration decided on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, to immediately revoke Presidential Proclamation 10014, a controversial order passed under former President Donald Trump that halted the issuance of most U.S. visas at Consulates and Embassies worldwide.

Our office has known since early January that the Biden administration was planning to revoke this Proclamation, and yesterday the rumors were finally put to rest.

Presidential Proclamation 10014 is no more.

What was Presidential Proclamation 10014 about?

P.P. 10014 essentially imposed a 60-day ban on the issuance of visas for most immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories. The Proclamation began on April 23, 2020 and was set to continue by President Trump until March 31, 2020.

P.P. 10014 proved to be exceedingly harmful given the wide variety of immigrants to which it applied.

Specifically, the order halted the issuance of U.S. visas for the following classes of immigrants at U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide as of the date of the proclamation (April 23, 2020):

Spouses and children of green card holders (US citizens were not affected) applying at the consulate
Parents of US citizens applying at the consulate
Brothers and sisters of US citizens applying at the consulate
Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of US citizens applying at the consulate (children under 21 years old of US citizens were not affected)
Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of green card holders applying at the consulate
EB1A extraordinary abilities and their family applying at the consulate
PERM EB3, PERM EB2, NIW employment based and their family applying at the consulate
EB4 religious workers immigrants applying at the consulate
H1B and H4 dependents applying at the consulate
L1 and L2 applying at the consulate
J1 applying at the consulate

Individuals residing in the United States and those who had a valid visa or travel document to enter the United States, on or before the date of the proclamation, were not impacted.

P.P. 10014 Exempted Categories

In addition, those who were not impacted by the proclamation included the following classes of immigrants:

Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S.
Aliens who are the spouses of U.S. Citizens
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and any spouse and child of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces
Aliens under 21 years of age who are children of United States Citizens and prospective adoptees
Aliens seeking to enter the U.S. on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional
Aliens seeking to enter the U.S. to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19
Any spouse any unmarried child under 21 years of age of any such alien who is accompanying or following to join the alien
Any alien applying for a visa pursuant to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
Aliens whose entry furthers important United States law enforcement objectives
Any alien seeking entry pursuant to a Special Immigrant Visa in the SI or SQ classification, and any spouse and child of any such individual
- SI: Certain aliens employed by the U.S. Government in Iraq or Afghanistan as translators or interpreters
- SQ: Certain Iraqis or Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government
Any alien whose entry would be in the national interest of the United States (national interest waivers)
Aliens seeking entry for asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

How has the Biden administration acted?

In a new Presidential Proclamation, just released yesterday, Wednesday, February 24, 2021, President Biden acted to immediately revoke P.P. 10014, and its subsequent continuation in P.P. 10052, stating that the proclamation “does not advance the interests of the United States,” and instead has harmed immigrants by “preventing certain family members of U.S. Citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here.”

The proclamation also recognized that Diversity Visa Lottery applicants were also harmed since they were prevented from applying for immigrant visas during the FY 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery due to the proclamation.

What Guidance will be issued after this decision?

Section 2 of the revocation requires review of agency level guidance calling on the Secretary of State, Labor, and Homeland Security, to conduct an immediate review of, “any regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions developed pursuant to Proclamation 10014 and, as appropriate, issue revised guidance consistent with the policy set forth in this proclamation.”

What does this mean for applicants?

Unfortunately, it is too early to know exactly what the practical effect of this revocation will be. What we know for sure is that in the coming weeks and months, the Department of State will be forced to issue new guidance and policies for those who were previously impacted by the ban on visa issuance.

While these categories of immigrants may now proceed with visa issuance, they are unlikely to receive an interview appointment due to the massive backlogs at U.S. Consulates and Embassies worldwide caused by the COVID-19 health crisis, as well as the limited resumption of visa services.

As our readers will know, the majority of Consulates and Embassies have reserved the only available appointments for emergency cases, expedite requests, and where an applicant’s entry is in the national interest.

We are facing extremely uncertain times even with the revocation of P.P. 10014. We hope that the Biden administration will do more to push Consulates and Embassies to reopen and offer more interview appointments in the coming months.

Questions? If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-569-1768 or call 619-819-9204.

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