As a further development of President Trump’s January 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to enhance the vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States, his administration issued a Proclamation on June 4, 2025 imposing travel restrictions on nationals of 19 countries, effective at 12:01 AM EDT on Monday, June 9, 2025.
Full suspension of entry
The Proclamation fully suspends and limits the entry of nationals of 12 countries that the administration has deemed deficient with regard to screening and vetting procedures and therefore determined them to pose a very high risk to the United States: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Entry into the United States by nationals of these countries (whether as immigrants or nonimmigrants) will be fully suspended, to the extent that they are not covered by the exceptions detailed below.
Partial suspension of entry
The Proclamation also partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of seven more countries that the administration has determined pose a high level of risk to the United States: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Entry into the United States by nationals of these countries is fully suspended for both immigrants and nonimmigrants applying for B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas — subject to the exceptions detailed below. Moreover, the Proclamation orders consular officers to reduce the validity period of any other nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of these countries to the extent permitted by law, although the Proclamation makes no mention of what that shortened validity period is.
Exceptions
Importantly, the above suspensions will only apply to nationals of the designated countries 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 restrictions detailed in the Proclamation include several key exceptions. The travel restrictions will not apply to the following groups:
- Lawful permanent residents of the United States (i.e., Green Card holders);
- Dual nationals of both a designated country and a non-designated country when that 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, IR-1/CR-1, IR-2/CR-2, IR-5, IR-3, IR-4, IH-3 and IH-4, as well as Afghan special immigrant visas, special immigrant visas for US government employees, and immigrant visas for 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 US attorney general or the secretary of state.
Takeaways and our guidance
On June 9, 2025, immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuance to nationals of the 12 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 seven countries subject to the partial suspension of entry. Accordingly, we advise as follows:
- Full travel-ban countries: Foreign nationals of the 12 countries subject to the full suspension of entry who are currently in the United States and do not have valid visas and do not qualify for one of the above-listed exceptions, should NOT travel abroad, as they will not be able to return until the travel ban is lifted.
- Partial travel-ban countries: Foreign nationals of the seven countries subject to the partial suspension of entry who are currently in the United States in B‑1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M or J status and do not have valid visas and do not qualify for one of the above-listed exceptions, also should NOT travel abroad. Furthermore, we strongly recommend that foreign nationals of these seven countries who are currently in the United States in another nonimmigrant status (e.g., H, L, etc.) and do not have valid visas and do not qualify for one of the above-listed exceptions avoid international travel to the fullest extent possible (as it is not out of the realm of possibility that the administration will expand the ban to other nonimmigrant visa categories with little or no notice).
Moreover, we recommend that foreign nationals of any of the 19 designated countries who are currently abroad and not subject to an exception make every effort to return to the United States as soon as possible and prior to the June 9, 2025, effective date of the Proclamation.
The advice above is based on our interpretation of the Proclamation in light of various inconsistencies in its text and several aspects of the Proclamation that have not yet been tested and interpreted. We will monitor how the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security implement and enforce this Proclamation over time.
If you have any questions or need additional information about this alert, please feel free to contact us.
*The Proclamation says “on the … effective date.” We are assuming that this is a drafting error and will be interpreted as “on or after.” Otherwise, this affects only those who are outside the United States on June 9, 2025.
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