Communique – Volume 17, Number 1

January  2021

Greetings from the ISSO!

In this issue:

President Biden Revokes Travel Bans Implemented by Trump Administration

President Biden issued a Presidential Order on January 20th revoking a travel ban implemented by the prior administration effective immediately. This ban, often referred to by the media as the ‘Muslim Ban’, applied to certain nonimmigrants from Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania and Yemen, as well as to government representatives from Venezuela. While this revocation has minimal implications for the BU scholar community, it is certainly a positive indication that the new administration will be more supportive to foreign nationals working and studying in the US. We recommend that you review the ISSO News section periodically for the most up-to-date information.

COVID Related Travel Updates

  1. Negative COVID Test Required for All Air Travel to the US: Effective January 26, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention require documentation of a negative viral COVID-19 test from all air passengers traveling to the US. Therefore, any BU employees or scholars scheduled to travel to the US must present written documentation of a negative test taken within 72 hours of their scheduled departure. Please remind any scholars or employees in your department who may traveling to check with their airline carrier regarding specifics related acceptable documentation. Please see the CDC website for more details and consult Back2BU for the latest information and updates regarding returning to campus.
  2. Biden Administration confirms previous suspension of COVID related travel restrictions and adds South Africa: President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation on January 25, 2021 extending all COVID related restrictions on travel to the US. Thus, entry to the US within 14 days remains banned from Brazil, mainland China, Iran, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 European countries. In addition, as of January 30, 2021, travel from South Africa will also be suspended due to concerns about a new COVID variant.

COVID related travel bans, quarantine requirements and visa processing suspensions and delays continues to change. Please consult the ISSO news frequently, refer to the current Travel Advisory or contact the ISSO if you have any questions.

H-1B Visa Classification Updates

  1. H-1B Visa Ban Extended: The Trump Administration extended the ban on immigrant and employment-based visa issuance until March 31, 2021. The Proclamation, entitled “Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak” suspended visa processing for certain classifications, including the H-1B. It is important to note that this ban does not apply to individuals who are already in the US or individuals who already hold a valid visa in the affected classification. The ISSO has already notified employees currently outside the US who may be affected by the extension of the visa processing ban.
  2. H-1B Wage Rule Published (Again); Biden Administration Delays Implementation: On January 14, 2021, the DOL published a final rule to raise the minimum prevailing wages for employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions. This is a slightly new version of the rule initially published on October 8, 2020 which was subsequently set aside by the court in December. The final rule contains lower calculations than initially published in the previous version and outlines a plan to phase the higher wages in over the next 18-months. On January 20, 2021, the Biden administration issued a memorandum announcing a regulatory freeze to stop the implementation of “midnight rules” issued by the Trump administration. Thus, pending further review, the implementation of the rule has been pushed until at least March 21, 2021. In addition, it remains likely that there will be new legal challenges to the rule, so its implementation remains uncertain.

    The ISSO will continue to monitor the situation and update the community as more details are available. Please review the ISSO news for more details about the ban and feel free to contact the ISSO if you have any questions or wish to strategize H-1B sponsorship for a new or continuing employee.

    New Scholar Team Departmental Caseload Distribution

    We are pleased to announce our new Scholar Advisor caseload for 2021. These changes insure an even distribution of our current client population across the Charles River, Medical and Fenway campuses. The new distribution is effective immediately so please direct your inquiries appropriately. The ISSO scholar advising team has nearly 50 years of combined experience in employment/scholar-based immigration, so even if your assigned ISSO contact has changed, you will continue to get the same outstanding service that you expect from our team.

    The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community during this challenging time and appreciates your continued support!