Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

On June 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation instituting a partial or full travel ban on 19 countries.  This comes on the heels of Executive Order 14161 of January 20, 2025: Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats, which directed the secretary of state, the attorney general, the secretary of homeland security, and the director of national intelligence to produce a report identifying countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension.

According to the president, the rationale for these travel bans is based on data that show, primarily, some or all of the following regarding the particular country: (a) lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures; (b) historically has a high incidence of visa overstay; (c) historically has not cooperated to accept back their removable nationals; (d) criminal records are not available or are not made available to the United States; (e) is a sponsor or source of significant terrorism. The partial and full travel ban will be reviewed within 90 days of the date of this proclamation, and every 180 days thereafter, to determine if any adjustments or removal from the travel ban list is appropriate.

The partial bans means there will be a suspension of the issuance of B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas and a reduction in the validity for any other nonimmigrant visa, which includes all work visa categories, issued for nationals of the following seven countries:  Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. 

The full ban means that entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants of nationals of the following 12 countries, is suspended:  Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.  

These restrictions apply to those outside the United States on the applicable effective date of this proclamation and those who do not already have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of this proclamation. It is important to note that no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation. 

There are nine categories of individuals not subject to either the partial or full travel ban, including but not limited to: (a) lawful permanent residents; (b) any dual national who is traveling to the United States with a passport not listed above; (c) immediate family immigrant visas; (d) adoptees, (e) asylees or refugees, as well as any other special cases as determined at the discretion of the attorney general or the secretary of homeland security. The full list of exceptions is in the proclamation.

This proclamation will take effect at 12:01 am EST on June 9, 2025.