Immigration and quarantine ban: DV-2020 green card lottery winners ask Trump for help

Winners of the DV-2020 green card lottery may lose the opportunity to obtain the status of legal permanent resident of the United States due to both quarantine and the temporary ban on immigration by US President Donald Trump. A group of applicants for a green card from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries created a petition on the White House website, which appealed to the president for help.

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Winners of the DV-2020 green card lottery, required to submit documents and be interviewed before September 30, 2020, in order to be eligible for the status of legal permanent resident of the United States, may not have time to do this: April 22, US President Donald Trump signed a decree restricting immigration to the country , which will be valid for 60 days, and then can be withdrawn or extended.

“We are the lucky ones chosen in the DV-2020 lottery. Please don’t let us lose this Great Opportunity!” - reads the title of the petition created on April 26, 2020. And here is its text:

“Good afternoon, Mr. President! Our families have a dream - to live and work in the USA. And now our dream began to come true. We are the lucky ones from many countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus... selected in DV-2020, some of us scheduled interviews and received green cards before your appeal came into force, and they managed to travel to the USA, others canceled the interview or could not pass due to Covid-19 because embassies around the world are closed and now we are very concerned that we will not have time to complete the interview before the final date of September 30, 2020 and receive our long awaited visas due to the visa suspension in connection with your decree, Mr. President. We respect you and ask you to help us."

The White House website states that the petition works as follows: you need to create an appeal, share it with other people in order to form a community that will join the statement. If the petition gains 100 votes in 000 days, the White House must review and give an official response within 30 days.

As of 15:00 ET on May 4 petition 3 people signed, signature collection will end on May 122th.

On the subject: The United States began to issue much fewer visas: March statistics

Recall that on April 22, US President Donald Trump signed a decree restricting immigration to the country for 60 days, after which the restriction can be removed or extended. The president called the main reason for the introduction of new restrictive measures the concern about the preservation of “jobs for our great American citizens” against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In order to protect our wonderful American workers, I just signed a decree to temporarily suspend US immigration. This ensures that unemployed Americans from all walks of life will be first in line for jobs after the economy opens. We will also save our medical resources. We must take care of our patients, workers, so we did it, ”Trump said on the evening of April 22.

Soon after, the text of the presidential decree was published on the official website of the White House.

The new restrictions apply only to foreigners who have not yet applied for immigration documents in the United States and are now abroad. The ban applies to aliens residing outside the United States who wish to legally migrate to the United States through an immigrant visa or green card, with some exceptions.

The Institute for Migration Policy, an independent think tank, estimated that the decree would block the issuance of about 26 green cards per month, or 000 for the entire 52-day period of its validity. It is worth noting that the pandemic has already significantly suspended the flow of immigration to the United States: countries have imposed restrictions on the border, the provision of visa services has been suspended, as well as the reception of refugees.

The ban does not apply to foreigners who already have immigrant visas to the United States, holders of valid green cards or citizens of other states who are in the United States and intending to obtain a legal residence permit in the country based on current immigration rules.

The decree does not apply to: spouses and minor children of US citizens; medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, who “take part in the fight against COVID-19”; US military personnel, their spouses, and children; anyone serving in law enforcement or national security services. The order also does not apply to issuing visas for investors. To obtain such a document, a foreigner must invest in the American economy from 500 thousand dollars to 1 million and create at least 10 jobs within two years.

On the subject: Immigrant doctors cannot rescue COVID-19 patients in the US due to visa restrictions

In addition, the new restrictions do not apply to foreigners whose relocation to the United States is in the interests of American law enforcement or national security interests, as well as applicants for special visas intended for citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who have assisted American forces.

As President Trump specifically clarified during the briefing, the ban also does not apply to seasonal farm workers temporarily coming to the United States on work visas to participate in the harvest.

According to the document signed by Trump, the decree entered into force on April 23 at 23:59 Eastern time.

Officially, the decree will be valid 60 days from the date of publication, but the text fixes the possibility of its extension: “No later than 50 days after the entry into force of the document, the head of the Department of National Security, in consultation with the head of the Department of Labor and the Secretary of State, can extend or change the validity period the decree, ”the document says.

In addition, 30 days after the entry into force of the document, these officials can propose new restrictive measures to the president, evaluating the effectiveness of those introduced earlier. For more information on why the ban was introduced, read here.

Read also on ForumDaily:

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