Yesterday, June 4th, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation implementing travel restrictions on nineteen (19) countries, which will go into effect on June 9, 2025. The restrictions include a full suspension of entry for nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen (applies to all visa types – see very limited exceptions below). The ban also includes a partial suspension of entry for nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela (this only applies to B, F, M, and J visas). The Proclamation explains that the compiled list of restricted countries is based on several factors, including overstay rates, high terrorist activity, and insufficient screening and vetting processes.
What does this mean for H-2B Organizations?
The good news is that the ban should not have much (if any) impact on the vast majority of H-2B employers, for the following reasons:
- Citizens of the countries impacted, for the most part, do not commonly use the H-2B and J-1 programs;
- The partial suspension applies only to B, F, M, and J visas. Therefore, although new J-1 visas from these countries will not be issued during the suspension, H-2B visas are not impacted for these countries, and workers from these countries can continue applying for new H-2B visas and entering the U.S. without impact; and
- Most importantly, the restrictions (for both the full and partial suspensions) do not apply to individuals who are inside the U.S. on June 9th or who have already been issued a valid visa as of June 9th.
However, there remains the question of what would happen if an H-2B worker from one of the full suspension countries is in the U.S. on in-country H-2B extension and wants to leave the U.S. and come back. The issue in this scenario is that, when a worker is on an in-country extension, their previous H-2B visa stamped in their passport has typically expired. Therefore, the worker would need to apply for a new H-2B visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before returning. Although the Proclamation’s language states that individuals in the U.S. on June 9th are exempt from the travel ban, the restrictions also seem to prevent the issuance of new visas. We are skeptical that U.S. consulates would be able to consistently distinguish between H-2B visa applicants who were inside the U.S. or not on June 9th. Therefore, it is unclear whether an in-country H-2B worker would be able to apply for a new visa to come back to the U.S. after June 9th.
In light of the above, we recommend that any workers from the impacted countries (especially those without currently valid visas in their passports) avoid international travel unless absolutely necessary, as it is unclear whether they would be able to return. The government has discretion when allowing entry into the U.S. and given the rapid changes to immigration policy under the Trump Administration, we are uncertain how this Proclamation will be enforced in each scenario.
Are there any exceptions to the travel ban?
There are some exceptions to the travel ban – it does not apply to lawful permanent residents of the U.S., dual citizens who have a valid passport from a country that is not on the travel ban list are an exception, and a few other very limited exceptions that are outlined in the Proclamation.
How long will the travel restrictions last?
It is unclear how long the travel restrictions will last. The Proclamation only mentions that the government will periodically reevaluate the restricted countries to determine whether any suspensions should be modified or terminated.
In summary, while we expect these travel restrictions to have very little impact on most H-2B organizations and workers, we understand that this is an unsettling time for many organizations and workers. Therefore, as always, please let us know if you have any concerns or questions.
Thank you,
Keith Pabian and the Pabian Law Team