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President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the expansion of the travel ban first issued earlier this year.
The expansion will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Jan. 1, 2026, and "fully restricts and limits" the admittance of nationals from the below additional countries who are outside the United States and do not have a valid visa or entry document as of that time:
- Burkina Faso
- Laos
- Mali
- Niger
- Sierra Leone
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Noncitizens traveling with Palestinian Authority Documents
Further, nationals from the below additional countries, who are outside the United States without a valid visa, will be barred from entering the United States with immigrant or B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas as of Jan. 1, 2026:
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Benin
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Dominica
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The attorneys
Trump first issued the travel ban in June via the Presidential Proclamation signed during the first day of his second term in the White House entitled "Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security Public Safety Threats."
With the announcement Tuesday, the ban will now completely restrict and limit the entry of those from the below nations as of Jan. 1, 2026:
- Afghanistan
- Burma
- Burkina Faso
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Laos
- Libya
- Mali
- Niger
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Yemen
- Those with Palestinian Authority Documents
The complete list of countries whose nationals will be barred from entering the United States with immigrant or B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas as of Jan. 1, 2026, is:
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Benin
- Burundi
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tonga
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Additionally, the Trump administration directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in early December to immediately pause processing of all "USCIS Benefit Applications" for nationals of the countries listed in its travel ban. The attorneys at Garfinkel Immigration anticipate that the adjudications "pause" will apply to the new countries in the expanded list.
Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States and dual nationals of one of the listed countries (if traveling on a passport issued by a non-barred country) are not affected by the ban.
The ban includes other very limited exceptions. Please contact the attorneys at Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm to discuss individual circumstances.
Garfinkel Immigration will alert clients when and if circumstances evolve. The ban could also face legal challenges in federal court.
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.
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