U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia orders the State Department to process all 2020 DV visa applications in a preliminary injunction order. The court orders that the State Department (U.S. Embassies and Consulates) may not interpret or apply the President's Proclamations in any way that forecloses or prohibits embassy personnel, consular officers, or any administrative processing center (such as the Kentucky Consular Center) from processing, reviewing, or adjudicating a 2020 diversity visa or derivative beneficiary application or issuing or reissuing a 2020 diversity or derivative beneficiary visa based on the entry restrictions contained in the Proclamations. U.S. embassies and Consulates must undertake good-faith efforts to expeditiously process and adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa and derivative beneficiary applications and issue or reissue diversity and derivative beneficiary visas to eligible applicants by September 30, 2020, giving priority to the named diversity visa Plaintiffs in Gomez, Aker, Mohammed, and Fonjong and their derivative beneficiaries.
The Court orders the State Department to start processing 2020 Diversity Visa (DV) visa application at U.S. Embassy and Consulates
However, non-DV plaintiffs did not get the preliminary injunction. Visa applicants for temporary visa such as H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and certain J-1 and their spouse or children and immigrant visa applicants (spouse or child of Green card holders and other non-exempted relatives of U.S. citizens) are not eligible to apply for a new visa unless the Executive Order is rescinded, the Court orders it to be rescinded, or Embassy or Consulates find that the visa applicants are eligible for National Interest Exceptions to Presidential Proclamations (10014 & 10052)
Court declines preliminary injunction against Executive Proclamations 10014 and 10052 which suspended visa processing for H-1B, H-2B, and L-1 visas; J-1 visa applicants participating in the intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel programs; and any spouses or children of covered applicants applying for H-4, L-2, or J-2 visas
Please contact us at (+1) 202 600 7742, or email us at info@adhikarilaw.com if you will have any question on this topic. You can also reach us to learn about our legal services.
Note: This is a blog post by Adhikari Law PLLC and should NOT be construed as a legal advice.