The following message is a summary and analysis of President Trump's executive order on immigration and its impact on international students and scholars (shared on April 23, 2020):

Dear international students and scholars,

We hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and well.

Last night, President Trump issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak.”

This executive proclamation suspends certain immigrant visa (i.e. green card) application processing from outside the US for 60 days, with a number of exceptions. The proclamation is effective 11:59 p.m. on April 23, 2020. Exceptions include physicians, nurses, other healthcare professionals to combat, recover from, or otherwise alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak including performing related research; EB-5 investors; Individuals whose entry would be in the national interest; etc.

Here is the breakdown of what this executive proclamation means to you:

• If you are a current or prospective F-1 or J-1 student, this does not impact you, and it does not impact your dependents in derivative status (F-2 or J-2).
• If you are a current or prospective E-3, H-1B, J-1, O-1, and TN scholar, this does not impact you, and it does not impact your dependents in derivative immigration status.
• If you have a pending Emory-sponsored employment-based green card application, this should not affect your Permanent Labor Certification, I-140 Immigrant Petition, or I-485 Adjustment of Status application. Our records indicate that no one has chosen immigrant visa processing abroad over the I-485 for their last step of the green card process. If you have changed your mind, please email us before the end of this week. Even for new permanent residency cases, this should not impact you as it is our normal practice to recommend the I-485 route over green card visa processing abroad.

Please let your ISSS advisor know if you have any questions. For any international travel outside the US, please remember to let us know of your travel plans by completing a Travel Information Update e-form in ISSS Link and wait for our advice before leaving the US.  We recommend that you frequently check our coronavirus resources website, including FAQs, COVID-19 related travel restrictions, and much more. 

Best regards,

International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)