Coronavirus Updates: April 24, 2020
NOTE: This blog post is over one year old. Information may be out of date.
USCIS EXTENDS TEMPORARY OFFICE CLOSURE
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announce today that they have extended the suspension of routine in-person services until at least June 3, 2020. According to the USCIS website, the agency is readying offices to reopen on June 4, but notes that this date could be extended pending federal guidelines.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS US ENTRY FOR CERTAIN IMMIGRANTS
This week, President Trump issued an executive order preventing certain immigrants from entering the United States for at least 60 days. As of April 24, the proclamation applies only to those currently outside of the United States who do not have a valid immigrant visa. Those exempt from the current order include:
lawful permanent residents;
healthcare professionals and those performing medical research related to COVID-19;
spouses and children under the age of 21 of US citizens;
members of the US Armed Forces and their spouses and children;
EB-5 Immigrant Investor visa applicants; and
Special Immigrant visa applicants in the SI or SQ classification.
While the current order is fairly limited in scope, the president has stated that his office is preparing a “secondary order” that could add further restrictions. Our office is closely monitoring this situation and will alert clients of any updates that may impact their case.
DHS EXTENDS BORDER CLOSURES
The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that the United States will be extending restrictions on non-essential travel across its northern and southern borders, in collaboration with the governments of Mexico and Canada. The restrictions will extend until at least May 20.
MAYOR COOPER RELEASES ‘ROADMAP FOR REOPENING NASHVILLE’
Nashville Mayor John Cooper published a 4-phase plan to reopen Nashville’s economy over the coming months. The plan will enter “Phase One” once Nashville sees an “acceptably stable or sustained declining trend in new cases for at least 14 days.” The city is currently still seeing a steady increase, with the highest number of new confirmed cases reached on April 23.
Source: Nashville.gov