US Imposes Severe Immigration and Travel Restrictions on People From 19 Countries and Additional Nationalities

In June, President Trump fully banned the entry of nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, and banned the entry with immigrant visas or in B, F, M, or J visa status of nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Collectively, these are the “19 Travel Ban Countries.” The Administration is imposing additional significant restrictions on nationals from the 19 Travel Ban Countries, and others.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct a comprehensive re-review of approved petitions (including green card petitions) for foreign nationals from the 19 Travel Ban Countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.

USCIS is pausing the adjudication of petitions (including work visa and green card applications) filed by those either born in, or are a citizen of, one of the 19 Travel Ban Countries so they can be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

USCIS will consider their nationality or birth country a “significant negative factor,” likely increasing the chance of petition denials.

Beginning December 15, all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants, regardless of nationality, will undergo expanded screening and vetting and will be required to set the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public” (as F, M, and J visa applicants must currently do), so that consular officers can examine those profiles to identify applicants “who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety … [and who] intend to harm Americans and our national interests.”

Regarding Afghan nationals, the US Department of State has paused immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance for those traveling with Afghan passports to allow for additional vetting. The USCIS is halting the processing of all immigration petitions by Afghan nationals, including work authorization applications. In addition, the President has called for the re-examination of every Afghan national who entered the United States during the Biden Administration.

USCIS is pausing the adjudication of all asylum applications, regardless of nationality. Previously scheduled asylum interviews may proceed, but no decisions will be issued.

USCIS is re-examining all refugee approvals for all nationalities (not just the 19 Travel Ban Countries) issued January 21, 2021, to February 20, 2025, and is stopping adjudicating adjustment of status (green card) applications by refugees admitted during that time period.

Affected foreign nationals may be interviewed or re-interviewed to fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility.

The adjudicatory hold and re-examination procedures will remain in effect until lifted by the USCIS director through a memorandum.

Many foreign nationals travel home for the holidays, which are approaching. Those from the 19 Travel Ban Countries should consider not traveling at this time because they will likely face significant difficulties obtaining visas and US entry, and they may be barred from reentry.

Employers with foreign national workers from the 19 Travel Ban Countries, or workers with refugee or asylee status pending, should be aware that their work authorization extensions may be denied or delayed. Employers must still comply with I-9 obligations, including the requirement to reverify each employee’s work authorization by its expiration date, or, when that is not possible, to terminate employment. Employers should prepare for staffing and operational gaps caused by these immigration restrictions.

Please contact Berin S. Romagnolo or Nancy A. Noonan with any questions.