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On December 16, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States. By way of background, on June 4, 2025, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals in order to protect the country from potential foreign terrorists or national security and public threats. This is an updated proclamation that expands the travel ban that has been in place for six months. The new ban adds to the list of banned countries, modifies restrictions, and clarifies the exceptions to the travel bans. In addition, this renewed and revised travel ban invokes national security and public safety as its justification for sweeping entry restrictions. The new ban takes effect as of 12:01 am EST on January 1, 2026 and it provides for a full suspension on entry for nationals of some countries, and a partial restriction for others.
Full Travel Ban
The full bans suspend entry to the United States on both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for nationals of the following countries:
Countries remaining on the travel ban list: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
New countries added with full suspension on entry: Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, and Foreign Nationals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The proclamation also expands countries that are currently on the partial travel ban list. The partial ban restricts entry to the U.S. only on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, and reduces the validity of other nonimmigrant visas (presumably to reciprocity schedule minimums).
Countries remaining on the partial travel ban list: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
New countries added with partial suspension on entry: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d 'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Additionally, the new ban removes Turkmenistan from the Partial Travel Ban list for purposes of nonimmigrant visas, but continues the ban on nationals of Turkmenistan entering the U.S. using immigrant visas. Both the full and partial travel bans do not apply to individual that fall into the below categories:
- Lawful permanent residents of the U.S.
- Any dual nationals of a listed country when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a country not subject to the travel ban.
- Any foreign national traveling on the following visas: 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.
- Athletes, coaches, those in supporting roles, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.
- Special Immigrant Visas for U.S. Government employees.
- IVs for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran.
- Individuals granted asylum and refugees previously admitted to the U.S.
The new ban eliminates the following categorical exceptions:
- Immigrant visas for family members in the U.S.
- Adoptions (IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, IH-4).
- Afghan Special Immigrant Visas.
The new proclamation creates exceptions in the national interest based on a determination by the Attorney General, Secretary of State or Secretary of Homeland Security. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence are directed to report to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security every 180 days on modifications to the travel bans. We expect to see the partial and full travel bans changing rapidly in this administration. We recommend that foreign nationals plan their travel carefully and be prepared to adapt to new policies issues by this administration.
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.
