Breaking News – Second Court Decision from Same Judge Stays June Presidential Proclamation for Plaintiffs

Soon on the heels of the September 29th decision that stayed the USCIS fee increase, on October 1, 2020, Federal District Judge Jeffrey S. White released a second immigration related decision, this one in relation to the President’s June 22, 2020 Presidential Proclamation in relation to non-immigrant visa issuance and entry ban for certain individuals. Judge White, a George W. Bush court appointee, enjoined the Defendants from applying the Proclamation against the specific Plaintiffs and their members pending a final court decision. In making his decision, he agreed with the Plaintiffs that the President’s action strayed into domestic matters that are clearly the subject matter of Congress and that the economic rationale for the Proclamation was flawed.

This has created two tiers of companies, those which are members of the Plaintiffs in this suit which are now exempt from the Presidential Proclamation, and those who are still subject to the underlying restrictions from the Proclamation. In a recent New York Times story, the paper claimed that hundreds of thousands of employers are now exempt from the Proclamation. The Plaintiff organizations now exempt from the Proclamation include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, Technet, and Intrax. Hence, foreign employees of any member of the afore-mentioned Plaintiffs should be able to obtain H, L, and J visas and be allowed entry into the U.S.

Unknown at this time is whether it is possible to now join one of the Plaintiff organizations and immediately be eligible for inclusion in the group now exempt from the Proclamation. At this point there has not been an official statement from the Department of State on how it is going to manage this process, nor a statement from the administration on whether they are appealing this decision.

Given the impact this decision may have on our current clients, our Managing Partner, David Brown, will be addressing the two recent judgments at the outset of his scheduled webinar tomorrow. So please join him tomorrow to better understand the impact of the fee increase and Presidential Proclamation decision, and stay to listen about proactive planning in response to the pandemic. Please see the information below to register.

Pandemic Planning – How to Prepare for New Normal of WFH/Distributed Teams (October 6th at 11:00 am PST)

When the pandemic first struck the focus was on keeping everyone safe and out of the office. Companies and governments responded to this new need and temporarily relaxed compliance with various rules related to the hiring of foreign nationals. Now employers are increasing the stay at home allowance and employees in certain cases are being permitted to move to suit their personal needs. David will speak to the issue of how to handle the initial compliance issues surrounding moving to remote workers and work from home while maintaining foreign talent. He’ll also discuss long-term planning issues and what to consider both in terms of process and policy development as this change impacts not just initial non-immigrant filings but also future planning for green cards.

Don’t miss this important session to better understand how you can continue to attract and retain foreign talent while moving to a more remote platform.

REGISTER HERE For Pandemic Planning

Once registered, you will receive an email with a link to use to join the video chat on the day of the event. Please note: This link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you. If you ever misplace the invitation link, simply visit the webinar schedule on our website to join the LIVE chat.

If you have contacts or colleagues who may benefit from our talks, you are welcome to invite them to join our VIP invitation list by sharing our webinar schedule where they can subscribe for further information.

Thank you and we look forward to having you at the event.

Best Regards,

The Team at Brown Immigration Law

** This newsletter/memo is provided for informational and discussion purposes only. It does not act as a substitute for direct legal contact on an individual basis **