PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEWEST TRAVEL BAN

On Sunday, September 24, 2017, President Trump made a Presidential Proclamation  regarding enhanced vetting for visa applicants from certain countries.  The Proclamation has been called the “Travel Ban 3.0” by reporters and commentators.  The Proclamation will go into effect on October 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM ET.

The Proclamation puts restrictions on the issuance of visas to nationals of certain countries until those countries meet the US government’s requirements for information sharing about visa applicants.  No visas will be revoked under the Proclamation.  The affected countries and visa types are:

·         No B1/B2 tourist visas will be issued to nationals of:

o   Yemen

o   Chad

o   Libya

·         B1/B2 tourist visas will not be issued Venezuelan government officials and their family members.

·         No visas will be issued to nationals of Iran, with the exception of F, M, and J visas which will only be issued after extra scrutiny. 

·         No immigrant visas (green cards) will be issued to individuals from Somalia.  Non-immigrant visas (i.e. F, J, H-1B, L-1) will be issued, but only with extra vetting. 

·         Lastly, no visas, of any type, will be issued to nationals from Syria or North Korea.

In response to the President’s Proclamation, the Supreme Court cancelled the oral argument on the earlier version of the travel ban, scheduled for October 10, 2017.  The Supreme Court asked the attorneys in the case to submit briefs as to whether the travel ban issue is now moot.  When a policy expires and a new policy is put in place, the challenge to the old policy can be “moot” meaning it is no longer debatable because the old policy has expired.