PLAYING VISA CARD

▪ The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of private individuals and a coalition of immigration law firms with support from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, over the State Department’s refusal to issue visas during the pandemic

▪ Federal judge James E Boasberg put a halt to the State Department practice of not issuing visas to travellers from other countries when travel bans are in place

▪ The judge had yet to issue an order instructing the government on how to proceed

▪ Among the largest groups of people affected by the ban were employees of American companies in technology and STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)