Trump Administration Third Travel Ban Takes Effect

The White House issued an indefinite Travel Ban through a Presidential Proclamation on September 24, 2017, with respect to 8 countries. The Supreme Court allowed the government to fully enforce the entry restrictions on December 4, 2017, and will review the Proclamation in April and issue a final ruling by the end of June. The travel ban affects nonimmigrants and immigrants from the following countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. The Department of Homeland Security reviewed foreign governments’ identity management practices and information sharing on national security and public safety threats, and as a result created this list. Restrictions were tailored to each country as follows:

The following people are exempt for this travel ban:

• Individuals who are lawful permanent residents of the United States.
• Individuals admitted to or paroled into the U.S. on or after the effective date (Oct. 18) of the new travel ban.
• Those with a document (not a visa) that allows them to travel to the U.S. if the document is dated on or after Oct. 18 (for example, a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole travel document).
• Dual-nationals traveling on a passport for a non-designated country.
• Individuals traveling on diplomatic visas, NATO visas, UN visas, or visas for international organizations (i.e. World Bank).
• People granted asylum.
• Refugees already admitted to the United States or granted withholding of removal, advance parole or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

A consular officer or Customs and Border Protection, may grant a waiver on a case-by-case basis, if the foreign national shows that denying entry would cause the foreign national undue hardship, entry would not pose a threat to the national security or safety of the United States, and entry would be in the national interest. There is no separate application, and the State Department states that an individual who seeks to travel to the United States should apply for a visa and disclose during the visa interview any information that might demonstrate that he or she is eligible for a waiver. Examples of appropriate cases for a waiver are listed in the Proclamation, such as

(A) the foreign national has previously been admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other long-term activity, is outside the United States, and seeks to reenter the United States to resume that activity, and the denial of reentry would impair that activity;
(B) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States for significant business or professional obligations and the denial of entry would impair those obligations;
(C) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States to visit or reside with a close family member (e.g., a spouse, child, or parent) who is a United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien lawfully admitted on a valid nonimmigrant visa, and the denial of entry would cause the foreign national undue hardship;
(D) the foreign national is an infant, a young child or adoptee, an individual needing urgent medical care, or someone whose entry is otherwise justified by the special circumstances of the case.