Trump freezes immigration for rest of 2020

President Donald Trump has signed a new Executive Order to limit immigration to the United States for the rest of this year. The Executive Order takes effect on June 24, 2020 at 12:01 AM EDT and expires on December 31, 2020.

The purpose of the Executive Order is to protect 525,000 jobs, according to the Trump administration. This figure represents the number of foreign nationals that the administration estimates will not be able to work in the country in 2020 as a result of the Executive Order.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused unemployment rates to spike around the world, including in the United States and Canada.

The Trump administration has long argued that welcoming immigrants hurts American workers. They believe limiting immigration during the pandemic will help American workers land on their feet.

Who is suspended from getting a U.S. work visa in 2020

For the remainder of this year, the U.S. will not issue new employment-based visas under the H-1B, H-2B, J, and L visa categories.

H-2B visas are for non-agricultural seasonal workers, J visas facilitate work and educational visitor exchange programs, while L visas are for intra-company transfers.

The suspension applies to people currently outside of the U.S. and who do not currently have a valid U.S. work visa.

The Executive Order provides the U.S. government with flexibility to exempt certain individuals from the suspension. Moreover, it does not apply to those seeking asylum in the U.S.

Trump announced a freeze on green cards in April but did not suspend employment-based visas at the time. Today’s Executive Order also extends the freeze on new green cards to the end of 2020.