The Biden administration has allowed the Presidential Proclamation 10052 to sunset on March 31, 2021. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) update on this topic and its implications can be found here. That proclamation had suspended / limited entry of certain H, L and J applicants originally until December 31, 2020 and later it was extended until March 31, 2021.

This is a welcome relief for the affected non-immigrants and their employers. If an applicant was subject to the presential proclamation and the visa application was pending, we understand that such applications will be given priority for further processing. However, our understanding is that if one applied for a visa and the same was refused under INA 212(f), then, such applicants need to pay the machine readable visa application fee again and submit a fresh application for the visa.

Priority is given at consular posts to U.S. citizenship services and immigrant visas. With the limited processing at the U.S. consulates in India, one may have to expect longer wait times for interview dates. It is also important to note that the scope of drop box eligibility was expanded recently and the applicant(s) should check eligibility and use this route if s/he is eligible.

We will continue to share important and helpful updates on this important topic.