Expanded Travel Ban
The Trump administration has announced an expansion of the existing travel ban, adding to the following to the already existing list of 12 countries impacted by full restrictions on issuance of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas:
- Burkina Faso
- Mali
- Niger
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Individuals holding Palestinian-Authority issued documents
- Laos (previously subject to partial restrictions)
- Sierra Leone (previously subject to partial restrictions)
The expanded ban suspends issuance of immigrant and tourist, student, and exchange visas for the following countries (while lifting restrictions on issuance of nonimmigrant visas for Turkmenistan):
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Benin
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Dominica
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Tanzania,
- Tonga
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The travel ban does not apply to:
- current green card holders
- people who were already granted a visa to travel to the United States before January 1, 2026
- people who are already in the United States before January 1, 2026
- certain athletes, religious workers, and Special Immigrant Visa holders
The ban no longer provides for an exception for those entering as green card holders as spouses, children, and parents of US citizens, but allows for case by case exceptions.