Trump’s Executive Order Update – Revision of Travel Ban for Designated Nationals

Following his controversial Executive Order dubbed the ‘Travel Ban’ of January 24^th 2017, restricting movement into the US for certain nationalities, President Donald J. Trump has issued a new Order on March 6^th 2017 to replace and amend certain clauses in the original. The new Order will come into effect on March 16^th 2017 at 12.01am.

What does the new order entail?

One of the key differences about the new Order is the removal of Iraq from the original list of designated countries, meaning that six remain; Syria, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. Iraq’s omission from the new Order is thought to be due to the Iraqi government’s agreement to intensified vetting of its nationals.

All remaining designated nationals will not be allowed to re-enter if they are outside the US from March 16^th 2017 inclusive, or if they did not obtain a valid visa stamp by January 27^th 2017 at 5:00pm- the date of the original order.

The new Order does not apply to the following:

1. Lawful Permanent Residents/Green Card Holders
2. Those who hold visa documents other than visa stamps, e.g. advance parole
3. Dual nationals travelling under a non-designated country’s passport
4. Those already granted asylum or already admitted as refugees
5. Diplomats, UN employees, employees of foreign governments and their dependants.

There is the possibility of case-by-case waivers of the travel ban for individuals in certain circumstances, though the waivers are not guaranteed to be approved. The following cases will be assessed on their merits:

1. Employees or students looking to resume study/legal work in the US who had been previously admitted to do so but were temporarily outside the country at the time of the previous Order.
2. Infants, children and adoptees or those needing urgent medical care.
3. Former US Government employees and dependants.
4. Canadian immigrants applying for US visas in Canada.

Any visa stamps already issued prior to the Order will not be cancelled, and any affected national whose visa stamp was cancelled due to the terms of the last Order can obtain new travel documents permitting them re-entry.

With regards to the US Refugee Admissions program, while the previous order suspended only Syrian refugee applications, the new order suspends all decisions on these applications from any national for at least 120 days from the implementation date of the new Order.

The advice for affected nationals inside the US is to avoid any travel after March 16^th as they are unlikely to be permitted re-entry. Any affected national currently outside the US is advised to make arrangements to return if they wish to do so; increased scrutiny from US Border Control should be expected by nationals of affected countries whether exempted from the travel ban or not.

Mauve will provide regular updates on any changes made to the new Executive Order; if you are concerned about the information above or require any advice, please get in touch via the Contact Form and we will respond as soon as possible.