EIG COVID-19 Update | April 22, 2020

With our mission to uncomplicate the complicated, we’ve always thought of our work in immigration as people-first. Our goal is for these emails to make sense of the changes happening across the world. Please share these updates with your colleagues who may find this information helpful, too.

International Updates

The United States, as of 6:00 PM EST, Tuesday | President Trump held a press conference and confirmed the impact of the Immigration Suspension he tweeted about on Monday and the contents of the Executive Order.

According to the President, the EO will effectuate a 60-day suspension on immigrant visa cases, subject to extension. Nonimmigrant visas are unaffected. However, Trump did allude to a second order that is currently being considered which would contain more restrictions.

The President confirmed that the EO would most likely be signed today.  EIG will review the final EO and provide additional details regarding the scope of the impact.

We will continue to closely monitor this situation for updates.
Case Update: 25,634 new cases, -2,034 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Canada | In an announcement on Tuesday, Air Canada said it will suspend flights between Canada and the United States between April 26 and May 22.
Case Update: 1,991 new cases, 571 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Estonia | The government has started to reopen healthcare services and will open some schools on May 15 as the country begins to return to normal.
Case Update: 17 new cases, 10 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Indonesia | The government announced Wednesday it would extend social distancing measures to May 22.
Case Update: 283 new cases, -92 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Lithuania | The government will allow shops, open-air restaurants, and other services to reopen beginning on Thursday.
“Due to the strict restrictions, Lithuania avoided a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases which was seen elsewhere in Europe, such as in Italy, Spain, Great Britain,” Lithuania’s public health authority chief said in a letter to the government.
Case Update: 20 new cases, -4 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Thailand | The government has approved a second automatic visa extension for three more months to prevent foreign nationals from having to wait in long lines at the Immigration Bureau to file visa extensions. Foreign nationals whose visas had expired since March 26, 2020, will be permitted to stay until July 31, 2020, without having to apply for an extension.
Case Update: 15 new cases, -4 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Vietnam | The government announced Wednesday that it would begin lifting the stringent movement restrictions. Vietnam has reported fewer than 300 cases and no deaths since the virus was detected in January.
Case Update: 0 new cases, 0 daily change, Last updated: 2020/4/22, 8:00 PM CEST

Erickson Immigration Group’s Immigration Nerds podcast is sharing stories at the cross-section of immigration, culture, travel, and, for now, the coronavirus. If you have stories to share, like this week’s guest Amin Hasani, who shares his experience as an immigrant entrepreneur pursuing the American dream one product at a time, we want to hear from you.

We will continue to send updates daily or as more COVID-19-related news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or in past updates or want to hear more about a different topic, just reply to let us know. If you have specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.