USCIS is readying offices to reopen on OR after June 4. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public while the offices are closed.

While offices are temporarily closed, USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency in-person services. Please call the USCIS Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. 

When USCIS again resumes operations for in-person services, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again.

Our firm strongly suspects that different offices around the country will open and close on a continual basis for the foreseeable future. Up to date office specific openings and closures can be found HERE.

The President signed a new proclamation banning the entry of a number of new classes of individuals citing the impact immigrants have on the labor market during a period of high unemployment and the need to preserve State Department resources so consular officers can service US citizens abroad. He also alleges that immigrants strain our health care system.

The order is in effect for 60 days and he cites Sections 212(f) as the main authority. He also cites other sections of the US Code that don’t really impact the scope of this order and because 212(f) is the main authority cited, it means the focus is on visas and people entering the US from abroad via Consular Processing. Section 212(f) permits the President to bar the entry of immigrants and classes of immigrants he deems to be detrimental to the United States.

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In other words, this new rule should NOT have an impact on anyone that is already inside the United States, which will come as a relief to many.

It will also mean that almost no cases will be impacted because US embassies have already been closed for weeks now without any new immigrant visas being issued in the first place.

As we suspected, this is Trump making a 2020 Campaign move, not a real policy that is going to have any additional effect on what is already the current state of affairs.

This is merely an attempt to change the news cycle away from Trump's failures. It has nothing to do with protecting "American jobs" as the door remains open to all non-immigrant work visas. 

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Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. – The section broadly states that the entry into the US of aliens as “immigrants” is suspended. This means people seeking to come in as permanent residents and non-immigrant categories and other categories of entrants are not covered.

Section 2. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry.

The suspension covers people if the following criteria are met:

- They’re outside the US on the effective date of the proclamation (11:59 pm – 4/23).

- They don’t have an immigrant visa valid on the effective date.

- They don’t have an official travel document other than a visa.

The following categories are exempt:

- Any lawful permanent residents (green card holders)

- People seeking to enter the US on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other health care professional, to perform medical research intended to combat the spread of COVID, or to perform work essential to combating recovering from or alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by DOS or DHS.

- EB-5 immigrant investors

- Spouses of US citizens

- Children under 21 of US citizens or prospective adoptees

- People who further important US law enforcement objectives, as determined by DOS or DHS

- Members of the US Armed Forces or their spouses and children

- Special Immigrants (including Iraqi and Afghani translators and religious workers)

- People whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by DOS or DHS. Potentially, this could include EB-2 national interest waiver recipients.

Section 3. Implementation and Enforcement.

The consular officer makes the determination if an individual is eligible for one of the exemptions in Section 2. DOS and DHS may set the procedures to carry this out. People circumventing this through fraud or willful misrepresentation shall be a priority for removal.

This order doesn’t impact people seeking asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

Section 4. Termination.

The proclamation expires 60 days from tomorrow, but may be continued “as necessary”. A recommendation on continuing must be provided by the Secretary of Homeland Security (in consultation with DOS and DOL) within 50 days.

Section 5. Effective Date.

11:59 eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020.

Section 6. Additional Measures.

Within 30 days of the effective date, DOL and DHS, in consultation with DOS, shall review nonimmigrant programs and make recommendation to stimulate the US economy and ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of US workers.

Section 7. Severability.

If the courts throw out any part, it’s the intention to continue on with the rest or the order.

Section 8. General Provisions.

Boilerplate language regarding complying with budget and other rules.

The birds were chirping in the late afternoon sun. The strong scent of spring was breezing by gently. A young couple stood before me in front of my home and prepared to take a sacred vow of love and companionship, to stand by one another and provide for one another - in sickness and in health - for as long as they both shall live. 

Our ceremony of three was witnessed by the creatures of my garden and by a family playing games in their yard just down the street. Marriage in the time of Coronavirus allows for no other witness. As we safely maintain distance from one another, from young to old, and from family to friend we re-invent our norms, our customs, and ourselves to protect one another.

Why not wait to wed until we can reunite together? Sometimes circumstances compel us to press on. 

Indeed as those in the immigration world know, for many immigration benefits a marriage must be completed within a certain time period or one may need to depart the country and face months or years apart from their loved one before being reunited again. 

Marriage in the time of Coronavirus is no easy task. Simply obtaining a marriage license is tough as our public institution are shuttered, and finding someone that can perform the ceremony is down right improbable - but not impossible! 

So while storm clouds are brewing on the distant horizons, pockets of sunshine can and should be cherished right above us, and we should not be afraid to have a little fun and live our lives. Giving to and supporting others, wearing a smile bravely across our face, embracing love - these are critical to our well being at all times.

And so I found myself yesterday on my own front lawn performing the sacred ritual of marriage to ensure a young couple would live their lives together.

I wore my favorite outdoor farmer hat for our festivities, and warned them upfront that my sermon might not be quite what they'd heard before. And when I asked those assembled to speak now if any thought this couple should not be wed, I winked at the couple and peered briefly into a near by bush to verify that no lurking being was present that opposed their nuptials. 

It brought a strong ray of joy to me to be a part of their marriage that I will cherish during these extraordinary times, and I hope I've provided them at the very least a fun story to tell their grandchildren about one day. A story of our unique ceremony witnessed solely by my garden. 

Carl Sagan said it best, "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love. A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life."

On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS offices will begin to reopen on May 4 unless the public closures are extended further. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public. 

USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency services. Please call the Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.  

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview. When USCIS again resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. You will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please check to see if the office in your jurisdiction has been reopened before reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.    

Education and precautions are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and wash hands and clean surfaces appropriately.  

USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. Please also visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates.