United States of America President Donald Trump has temporarily banned the entry of immigrants to lessen the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and thankfully, nurses and other healthcare professionals are exempted.
On April 22, Trump issued a proclamation which suspends the “entry of immigrants who present risk to the US labor market during the economic recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak.”
The ban will start April 23 and will last for 60 days, but may be continued or modified upon the recommendation of Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor.
As expected, nurses, physicians and other healthcare professionals who will perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak are exempted from the U.S. temporary immigration ban executive order.
Section 2-b paragraph ii states:
“any alien seeking to enter the United States on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional; to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees; and any spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old of any such alien who are accompanying or following to join the alien;”
This exemption for nurses is welcome news for both U.S. healthcare employers who are awaiting the arrival of nurses they have sponsored and nurses from around the world who are ready to depart to the U.S. in the coming months.