Where Things Stand With Consular Processing after the Expiration of Proclamation 10052

On March 31, 2021, Presidential Proclamation 10052, which banned the issuance of certain nonimmigrant visas, expired. The original proclamation was issued by the Trump administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis and banned certain temporary workers and exchange visitors. Despite this positive news indicating an opening of immigration, individual applicants should be aware that the expiration of PP 10052 will not result in the immediate processing of all nonimmigrant visa applications due to ongoing travel bans and a large backlog of cases. Also, it appears that consulates affected by travel bans and limited resources will prioritize issuing immigrant visas rather than nonimmigrant visas once they begin operating at capacity again. Unfortunately, the National Visa Center currently has a backlog of around 500,000 immigrant visa cases, and this appears to be one of the main reasons that consulates will prioritize the issuance of immigrant visas over nonimmigrant visas.