United States: Presidential Proclamation Bars U.S. Entry of Noncitizens Enabling Corruption

President Biden has issued a presidential proclamation barring noncitizens who enable and facilitate corruption from entering the United States. Specifically, the proclamation creates the legal authority for the Secretary of State to identify individuals “who have enabled, facilitated, or otherwise been involved in significant corruption, including through the laundering of its proceeds or obstruction of judicial or investigative processes, among other acts,” and their immediate family members, and to act accordingly, including through visa restrictions.

The presidential proclamation notes that green-card holders and individuals with certain humanitarian immigration protections, such as asylum and refugee status, will not be subject to any resulting visa restrictions. Additionally, the Secretary of State may exempt any individual if their potential entry may be in the U.S. interest.

According to a related White House Factsheet: “Through this Proclamation, the United States is the first country to establish a visa restriction authority for those who facilitate and enable significant corruption and their immediate family members.” It further notes that the proclamation also expresses the U.S. government’s intent to more vigorously use existing sanction authorities to target private enablers of public corruption – including by freezing their assets.

The visa restrictions are a part of the Biden administration's anti-corruption initiative, as described in the proclamation and Fact Sheet.

The proclamation will remain in effect until terminated by the President.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.