Travel Ban Expanding To Cover 39 Countries

Effective January 1, 2026, a new presidential proclamation will expand the current U.S. travel ban to include 20 additional countries beyond the 19 already targeted. Among other exceptions detailed below, these restrictions will only apply to foreign nationals who are outside the United States on or after the effective date of the proclamation and who do not possess valid visas at that time, and existing visas will not be revoked.

Full suspension of entry

Seven countries will be added to the list of 12 countries that are already subject to a full suspension of entry into the United States, with the updated list now including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos (previously only subject to partial suspension of entry), Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone (previously only subject to partial suspension of entry), Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Foreign nationals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents will also be subject to a full suspension of entry into the United States unless they otherwise qualify for an exception.

Partial suspension of entry (immigrants and nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J Visas)

Fifteen countries will be added to the existing list of countries subject to a partial suspension of entry into the United States, with the updated list now including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The proclamation will lift the ban on the issuance of nonimmigrant visas to nationals of Turkmenistan, although the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants will remain in place.

Exceptions

For nationals of the newly designated countries, the travel restrictions detailed above will only apply to those who are outside the United States on or after the effective date of the proclamation and who do not possess valid visas at that time. Individuals holding valid visas as of the effective date will still be permitted to enter the United States. Moreover, the travel restrictions will not apply to the following groups:

• lawful permanent residents (i.e., green card holders);
• dual nationals of both a designated country and a non-designated country, when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a non-designated country;
• athletes, coaches, support teams and immediate relatives traveling for the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics or other major sporting events as determined by the secretary of state;
• foreign nationals traveling on certain valid visas, including A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO‑2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5 or NATO-6, as well as Special Immigrant Visas for United States government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D);
• immigrant visa applicants who are ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran; and
• foreign nationals whose travel to the United States would advance a national interest, to be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with the Secretary of State.

Takeaways

As of January 1, 2026, immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance to nationals of the newly added countries subject to the full suspension of entry will pause until further notice, as will immigrant and B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J nonimmigrant visa issuance to nationals of the newly added countries subject to the partial suspension of entry. No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before January 1, 2026, will be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.

Unless they qualify for one of the exceptions noted above, foreign nationals of the countries subject to the full suspension of entry who do not have valid visas as of January 1, 2026, will not be able to enter the United States while the ban is in effect. Similarly, unless they meet a stated exception, foreign nationals of the countries subject to the partial suspension of entry who do not have valid B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M or J visas as of January 1, 2026, will not be able to enter the United States in one of these nonimmigrant classifications while the proclamation is in effect. Moreover, foreign nationals of countries subject to the partial suspension will not be allowed to enter the United States as immigrants while the ban is in effect.

We recommend that foreign nationals of any of the newly designated countries who are currently abroad and do not qualify for an exception make every effort to return to the United States as soon as possible and prior to the January 1, 2026, effective date of the proclamation.

Moreover, foreign nationals of any of the newly designated countries may become subject to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy implementing holds on and re-reviews of immigration benefits that already applies to foreign nationals of existing travel ban countries. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they become available.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.