On March 11, 2020 – Presidential Proclamation was announced, stating:”The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the Schengen Area during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States is hereby suspended and limited subject to section 2 of this proclamation… This proclamation is effective at 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on March 13, 2020. This proclamation does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departed prior to 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on March 13, 2020.” President Trump said the ban would last 30 days, but the proclamation language states that it “shall remain in effect until terminated by the President.”

Note: the European Schengen area includes: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The list does not include the United Kingdom.

President Trump’s most recent Presidential Proclamation entitled Proclamation on Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry issued on 01/31/2020 is set to take effect on February 21, 2020. This new proclamation restricts entry on immigrant visas (employment-based, family-based, Diversity Visa-based immigrants) for citizens and nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and  Nigeria. It also restricts as “diversity immigrants” for citizens and nationals of Sudan and Tanzania.

Currently, F-1 students and J-1 students and scholars are not impacted. However, as current U.S. immigration policy is fluid, ISSS suggests extra caution for individuals from the six countries choosing to travel, and recommends #talktous prior to departure from the United States.

The coronavirus outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. A number of countries, including the United States, have been actively screening incoming travelers from China. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised their travel advisory to a level 3: CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.

On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services announced that the United States is temporarily suspending the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who have been in China during the prior 14-day period, over concerns of the risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus. In addition, any U.S. citizen who has been in the Hubei Province of China during the 14-day period prior to entering the U.S. will face a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon return to the U.S. For up to date information on the coronavirus, please go here.

For information about this evolving public health situation, visit the CDC’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Please also refer to NAFSA’s website devoted to this topic.

Anyone with questions about SJSU-related travel to or from an area with confirmed cases of coronavirus can contact the ISSS office at international-office@sjsu.edu.

• Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States can be accessed here. This proclamation revokes the “Muslim and African” travel bans.
• Regulatory Freeze Pending Review can be accessed here. This sets a temporary stop on implementation of “midnight” regulations and polices issued by the Trump administration, to give the Biden administration time to review those regulations and policies.
• Executive Order on Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation can be accessed here.
• Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities can be accessed here. January 20, 2021. Executive Order. Rescinds Executive Order 13768 of January 25, 2017 (Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States), to “reset the policies and practices for enforcing civil immigration laws to align enforcement” with the Biden administrations “values and priorities” that include: “protect national and border security, address the humanitarian challenges at the southern border, and ensure public health and safety. We must also adhere to due process of law as we safeguard the dignity and well-being of all families and communities.”

Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians can be accessed here. Reinstates DED for eligibile Liberians until June 30, 2022.

On May 3, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that temporarily prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) August 8, 2018 policy memo that sought to change how days of unlawful presence are counted following a violation of F, M, or J nonimmigrant status.

For more detailed information, please refer to NAFSA’s summaryof the Unlawful Presence policy.