On March 20, 2020, the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments announced their collaboration in restricting non-essential travel across their shared borders. On April 20, 2020, the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced an extension of these restrictions.
 
The U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders will continue to be closed to non-essential travel for an additional 30-day period beginning April 20, 2020. The published definition of “non-essential travel” remains unchanged and includes traffic for tourism or recreational purposes, so travel for work and the movement of goods and services should continue to remain exempt from these restrictions. However, in many cases, U.S. Customs & Border Protection appears to be evaluating applicants for admission for work purposes based on whether the worker would be considered an essential worker and is not admitting those who it considers to be non-essential workers.
 
Foster will continue to monitor government closures and other action related to COVID-19 and will provide additional updates on the immigration-related impacts of COVID-19 via our firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.