Since June 9, 2025, travel into the United States by citizens of 19 countries has been fully or partially restricted, as described in our prior news alert. The June travel ban imposed two categories of visa restrictions on 19 countries in total. 12 countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen) were subjected to a ban on all non-immigrant and immigrant visas. 7 countries (Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela) were subject to a ban on all immigrant visas and a slightly more limited ban on tourist, student, and exchange visitor visas.
On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued a new Proclamation extending and expanding the travel ban to additional countries. Seven countries were added to the full restriction, and 15 to the partial restriction. One country, Turkmenistan, was removed from the non-immigrant travel ban due to improvements made by that country, although immigrant visas are still restricted. The updated travel ban takes effect at 12:01am EST on January 1, 2026.
The countries subject to the full restriction—i.e., no entry in an immigrant or non-immigrant classification—are: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen. The full restriction also applies to anyone traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.
The countries subject to the partial restriction—i.e., no immigrant visas and no entry in visitor or student non-immigrant classification—are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Like the June travel ban, this Proclamation includes a number of exceptions. First, it only applies to individuals who are outside of the U.S. when it takes effect (12:01am EST on January 1, 2026) and who do not have a valid visa stamp. Lawful permanent residents and dual nationals traveling on a passport from another country are exempt, and individuals who have a valid visa are able to travel on that visa until it expires—no visas should be revoked as a result of the Proclamation. Athletes, coaches, and support staff traveling for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics are exempt, and there is a process for the Attorney General or Secretary of State to allow exceptions on a case-by-case basis for individuals whose travel to the U.S. is in the national interest. However, the expanded travel ban removes previous exemptions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and children adopted abroad.
In late November, USCIS put in place a blanket pause on the adjudication of all immigration benefits for foreign nationals subject to the June travel ban, including immigrant and nonimmigrant worker petitions, green card applications, and even citizenship oath ceremonies. Now that the travel ban has expanded to more countries, USCIS may also suspend the adjudication of benefit applications for individuals who become subject to the travel ban on January 1, 2026.
