BIDEN REINSTATES COVID-19 TRAVEL BAN AND ADDS SOUTH AFRICA

• Effective January 26, 2021, President Biden reinstated a COVID-19 related restriction on travel from Brazil, Ireland, the UK and the Schengen Area. The Trump Administration had scheduled this ban to be lifted on January 26, 2021.

Effective January 30, 2021, this travel ban will expand to include South Africa.

This ban will remain in effect until it is terminated. The COVID-19 related ban on travel from China and Iran remain in place.

• Who is impacted?

Travelers, who were physically present in Brazil, Ireland, the UK, the Schengen Area and South Africa, China, and Iran in the past 14 days may not enter the U.S. unless the travelers meet certain exceptions or are exempt from the ban.  For additional information, please visit the Department of State website.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES REGULATROY FREEZE AND REVIEW

• The White House has requested that all federal agencies freeze the regulatory process on any Trump-era regulations that have not yet taken effect or been finalized.
• If the rules have been published but have not yet taken effect as of January 20, 2021, the White House has requested federal agencies to postpone the effective date to March 21, 2021.
• If the rules have not been published, they will be withdrawn.

• What does this mean?

It is common for the incoming Administration to freeze regulatory activities to review the previous Administration’s agency rules that are not yet in effect or finalized.

This freeze includes the recent DHS rule affecting the fiscal year H-1B cap case registration which prioritizes higher paid workers. It is possible that the agency may delay the effective dates further and/or the rule will be challenged in federal court.  DHS has not yet made any announcements on this new rule since President Biden took office.

BIDEN ENDS TRUMP ERA TRAVEL BAN TARGETING PRIMARILY MUSLIM AND AFRICAN COUNTRIES

• On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation revoking travel bans targeting primarily Muslim-majority and African countries.
• Who is impacted?

Nationals of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen will no longer face restrictions on nonimmigrant and/or immigrant visa issuance. Nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania will no longer be subject to immigrant visa restrictions.

• What does this mean?

Although the visa restrictions have been revoked, there are several restrictions on visa issuance and travel that remain in effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, visa issuance is never guaranteed, as each applicant is subject to background check and vetting.

DOL PROCESSING TIMES UPDATE

• On January 22, 2021, the Department of Labor published updated processing times for PERM labor certification applications (PERM) and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.  Average processing times are as follows:
• PERM
  • As of December 31, 2020, DOL was adjudicating applications filed in June 2020 or earlier and auditing cases filed in February 2020 or earlier.
• PWD
  • As of December 31, 2020, DOL was processing PWD requests filed in July or earlier. 
• What does this mean?

DOL’s data is consistent with the actual case processing times for client cases that MT is tracking. Most PERM applications and PWD requests are taking between 6 and 7 months from the date of filing at this time.

MT Perspective:

MT is closely monitoring the fast changing immigration landscape amidst the global pandemic under the Biden Administration.

We will provide updates on the developing situation and continue to assess and advise affected clients with recommendations.