Advice concerning the recent executive orders.
The President has signed three executive orders concerning immigration and we know of three more that are under consideration and may be signed. We are contacting our clients to provide you with as much information as we have and short term recommendations concerning travel.
The administration has barred the entry of citizens and residents of seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. This includes dual U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders). This ban is supposed to be temporary, but we have no assurance it will be lifted.
The administration is also contacting all countries to learn what resources they will provide to the United States for visa background checks. If a country does not cooperate by opening its records, citizens of that country will likely be barred from entering the United States.
Several countries, such as India, refuse to accept back their citizens convicted of crimes in the United States and ordered deported. The administration has said that it will bar entry into the United States to citizens of such countries.
We recommend that foreign born individuals including US citizen, permanent residents and nonimmigrants refrain from traveling abroad unless it is unavoidable. That you have a valid nonimmigrant visa or a green card will not matter if the travel bans are widened. To make matters worse, the agencies involved with the executive orders were not provided forewarning or guidance on how to apply the orders, leaving room for interpretation which has resulted in inconsistent results at various ports of entry.
If you travel, know that CBP will open all of your electronic devices (laptop, phone, tablet) and examine the contents. We know of instances where individuals have been turned away for being perceived as "anti-Trump."� If you delete the content on your phone, they will ask for your email username and password. They will do the same for all of your social media accounts.
A chilling example of the way things have changed appeared today on the www.WhiteHouse.gov web site. Previously, the summary of the Bill of Rights correctly used the word persons. The new administration changed the summaries, substituting citizens in place of persons. For example:
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The government may not conduct any searches without a warrant, and such warrants must be issued by a judge and based on probable cause. [Emphasis added]
If you can avoid foreign travel (even to Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean islands), please do so. If you cannot avoid travel, please contact our office immedeiately so we can advise you further.
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Originally Posted by gcq
