On June 4, 2025, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Threats describing the initiation of a limited ban on entry to the United States for nationals of certain countries. On June7, 2025, the Department of State announced a corresponding suspension of visa issuances to subject individuals: Suspension of Visa Issuance to Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats.

The bans took effect on Monday June 9, 2025, at 12:01 am EDT and apply to two categories of restriction: Full Ban and Partial Ban.

The Full Ban applies to nationals of the following countries: 

• Afghanistan 
• Burma 
• Chad 
• Republic of Congo 
• Equatorial Guinea 
• Eritrea 
• Haiti 
• Iran 
• Libya 
• Somalia 
• Sudan 
• Yemen 

The Partial Ban applies to a more limited cohort of individuals who seek entry as an immigrant, or a nonimmigrant visitor (B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2 visas) or student/exchange visitor (F, M, and J visas) and reduces the of validity for other nonimmigrant visas.

The Partial Ban applies to nationals of the following countries: 

•  Burundi
• Cuba 
• ​Laos 
• ​Sierra Leone  
• ​​Togo 
• Turkmenistan  
• ​Venezuela

Limited in Scope

The Proclamation states that the bans only apply to individuals who are outside the U.S. on the effective date (June 9, 2025, at 12:01 am EDT) AND who, on the effective date, are not in possession of a valid immigrant or nonimmigrant visa.Furthermore, it states that no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before June 9, 2025 will be revoked pursuant to the Proclamation.

This means:

• Someone who was unlawfully in the US on the effective date is not subject to the ban
• Someone who had a valid visa that expired the day after the effective date is not subject to the ban
  • A visa is automatically invalidated by overstaying the period of admission

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Exclusions

The Proclamation states the ban does not apply to the following categories of visa holders:

• Permanent Residents (presumably including immigrant visa holders already admitted to the U.S.); 
• Dual nationals of a non-listed country (as long as the unaffected passport is presented); 
• Those with 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 and coaches in World Cup, Olympics, or major sporting event;​ ​ 
• Immediate relative immigrant visas (spouses of US citizens, minor children of US citizens, parents of US citizens who are 21 or over); 
• Adoptions; 
• Afghan Special Immigrant Visas; 
• Special Immigrant Visas for US Government employees; 
• Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran; 
• Individuals granted asylum; 
• Refugees admitted to the U.S.; and 
• Individuals granted withholding of removal under the Covention Against Torture. 

Exceptions

• The Proclamation specifically enables the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to be able to make case-by-case exceptions for subject individuals whose travel would advance a critical U.S. national interest, including to participate in criminal proceedings as a witness. As with prior bans, these exceptions may be made by a designee (presumably consular staff) and likely provided in very limited circumstances. The precise criteria and procedures governing these exceptions remain ambiguous, leaving the scope and their consistency of their implementation open to interpretation. 
• Within 90 days of the proclamation and every 180 days thereafter, the Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and Director of National Intelligence shall submit a report recommending the continuation, termination, modification, or supplementation of the suspensions. 

Why?

The stated rationale for the entry bans is “to protect the United States from foreign terrorist and other national security and public safety threats.” The Proclamation identifies the following criteria for assessing which countries are subject to the ban:

• Countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries
• Countries that have also “taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of the US  visa system” 
• Countries with a history of failure to accept back their removable nationals.
• Countries whose nationals “pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety.”

What’s Next?

The Proclamation requires the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the Director of National Intelligence to devise a process to assess whether any of the suspensions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation should be continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented and requires the Secretary of State to produce a report 90 days after implementation, and then at 180-day increments thereafter.  The Proclamation does not make provision for adding additional countries to the list; however, it specifies that Egypt requires further review.

Inevitably, there will be litigation–although the action is based on broad executive powers authorized under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, certain elements of the provision invite scrutiny, including the extent to which there is a rational basis for the action (are the stated overstay rates an appropriate measure of whether a class of nationals are “detrimental to the interests of the United States?” What is the actual factual foundation for this? How is the Proclamation defining “overstay;” does it include individuals who, although remained beyond the period of time initially authorized, may have successfully applied to extend or change their status?).

36 More Countries?

According to press reports, a diplomatic cable was issued by the State Department on June 15 indicatic that an additional 36 countries could be added to the banned lists. Without specifying which countries might be subject to a full or partial ban, the reports identified the following:

Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Governments of those countries were givein notice to meet Administration requirements within 60 days (August 14, 2025) to avoid being subjtect to the bans.

Watch this space for updates.