President Donald Trump was criticized for suspending immigration during the coronavirus pandemic for 60 days, starting April 22. The entry of certain immigrants, who present a risk to the US labor market during the economic recovery following the pandemic, has been banned for two months.

Even though Trump’s executive order was criticized by many, he argued that he wants to protect American workers from competition with immigrants who are coming here to stay permanently.

Who will be affected?

The order blocks some individuals outside the US from settling permanently by obtaining what is informally known as a "green card". The measure applies to requests for permanent residence based on employment in the US and requests based on familial ties but contains several exceptions.

The order does not affect people coming to the US on non-immigrant visas, including tourists and business travellers. It also does not affect workers such as farm labourers entering the United States on temporary visas or skilled workers on H-1B visas. Also foreigners that are in the country seeking to adjust their status will not be blocked by this measure but their process will be delayed.

The people eligible to come and work in the US

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will be exempt, as will other prospective immigrants coming to the country to perform "essential" work to combat the new coronavirus, as determined by federal agencies.

The measure also excludes immigrants applying for the EB-5 visa programme, which allows foreigners willing to invest large sums of money in US projects that create or preserve jobs to obtain permanent residence.