The District Court in Northern District of California has issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the government from implementing Section 2 of Presidential Proclamation 10052, which suspended / limited entry of certain H, L and J applicants until December 31, 2020. This relief is limited to the Plaintiffs in the incumbent case # Case 4:20-cv-04887-JSW. A copy of this order can be found here.

Relief Limited to the Plaintiffs and their members

The plaintiffs are: (1) National Association of Manufacturers; (2) Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America; (3) National Retail Federation; (4) Technet and (5) Intrax, Inc. Petitioners who are members of the organizations listed above are also eligible for the relief under this order. It is important to note that this order is not nationwide and applies only to the plaintiffs listed above and their members.

In the operative part, the Injunction reads as follows:

1. Defendants, their agents, servants, employees, and all others in active concert or participation with them are enjoined, pending final judgment, from implementing, enforcing, or otherwise carrying out Section 2 of Proclamation 10052 with respect to Plaintiffs and, with respect to the association Plaintiffs, their members.

2. Defendants, their agents, servants, employees, and all others in active concert or participation with them are enjoined, pending final judgment, from engaging in any action that results in the non-processing or non-issuance of applications or petitions for visas in the H, J, and L categories which, but for Proclamation 10052, would be eligible for processing and issuance, with respect to the Plaintiffs and the members of the Plaintiff associations.

3. This preliminary injunction shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect pending trial in this action or further order of this Court.

Practical Difficulties

Though plaintiffs and their members have relief under the above, it is important to note that most consular posts have not resumed regular operations and it is quite possible that the consulate may indicate that they will process the cases only when the posts resume regular operations. So, in addition to this, if interview dates are not available, the Beneficiary / Applicant may have to qualify for an emergency appointment. One can only try to apply for a visa based on this interim relief. 

We will monitor how the consular posts handle cases which are covered under this injunction and keep our readers informed.