Last night Trump tweeted “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”

What does this tweet mean? Is it only going to effect those outside the U.S. ?In which case it would have no significant effect as U.S. consulates are currently only issuing visas to essential workers. Is it going to affect those already in the U.S.? If so will it only affect the issuance of the green card (in which case it would again have no significant effect since USCIS field offices are not currently conducting interviews) or will applications and initial processing also be suspended? (that would have an effect as USCIS service centers are still processing cases, and the National Visa center is still processing all steps to issue a visa abroad other than scheduling a visa interview appointment.)

Hints received so far: Trump said the suspension will be for 60 days ( and be re-evaluated after 60 days, and possibly renew it for another 60 days or longer. Trump said the order would only apply to those seeking green cards (permanent residence) and not to temporary workers. Trump said he is considering a second order and Reuters reports that a senior administration official said a separate action to cover others including H-1B workers is under consideration.

Bloomberg has reported they obtained a draft of the executive stating the suspension would last for 90 days, include exceptions for those working in food production & healthcare, refugees & asylum seekers, and spouses & children of U.S. Citizens & Permanent residents. But Associate press reports that an administration official familiar with the plans, states they will also affect relatives of green card holders, while not affecting the immediate family of U.S. citizens (possibly including parents).

If the order attempts to prevent the filing of green card applications for those already within the United States or citizenship applications, it can be expected that lawsuits will be filed to prevent the order from going into effect. While Trump as the executive has considerable power over permitting those outside the U.S. from entering the U.S. his powers over applications to adjust status to permanent residence for those within the country or to prevent citizenship applications are limited at best. We need to wait for the executive order to be released (Trump says possibly by Wednesday) to determine what the exact effect of the order will be.