Travel Bans Expanded
- December 16th, 2025
- in Capstone International Services
Travel Bans Expanded
The Presidential Proclamation of December 16, 2025: Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of The United States expands the number of countries impacted by travel bans. This proclomation adds 7 countries plus Palestinian Authority-issued travel document holders to the “full” travel ban list and 15 countries to the “partial” travel ban list. These additional bans go into effect on January 1, 2026.
Previously, Presidential Proclamation 10949 of June 4, 2025: Restricting The Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats established a “full” travel ban on 12 countries and a “partial” travel ban on 7 countries, that went into effect on June 9, 2025.
Read:
- The December 16 Proclamation on whitehouse.gov
- White House Fact Sheet on the December 16, 2025 Proclamation
- The June 4 Proclamation (10949) on whitehouse.gov
- White House Fact Sheet on the June 4, 2025 Proclamation
Resource: NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Effective dates –
- Original travel bans went into effect June 9, 2025.
- Expanded travel bans go into effect on January 1, 2026.
Full ban countries – A total of nineteen (19) countries plus holders of Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents are subject to a full ban that suspends “entry into the United States” of nationals of those countries as “immigrants and nonimmigrants.”
- The original 12 “full ban” countries which went into effect on June 9, 2025 are: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
- The expanded list of 7 countries plus holders of Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents who are subject to the “full ban” which goes into effect on January 1, 2026 are: Burkina Faso, Laos*, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone*, South Sudan, Syria and those holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.
- *Note: Laos and Sierra Leone were previously on the “partial ban” list and have been added to the “full ban” list effective January 1, 2026.
Partial ban countries – A total of twenty (20) countries are subject to a partial ban that suspends “entry into the United States” as immigrants and of nonimmigrants “B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas.”
- The original 7 “partial ban” countries which went into effect on June 9, 2025 are: Burundi, Cuba, Laos*, Sierra Leone*, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela
- *Note: Laos and Sierra Leone have been made subject to the “full ban” list effective January 1, 2026.
- The expanded list of 15 countries subject to the “partial ban” which goes into effect on January 1, 2026 are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Exceptions – The ban provisions are applicable only to nationals of the subject country who are outside the U.S. without a valid visa as of the effective date of the travel ban (i.e. June 9, 2025 for original travel ban countries and January 1, 2026 for expanded travel ban countries).
Individuals who are inside the United States on the effective date, or who are outside the United States on that date but have a visa that is valid as of the effective date, would not be covered by the ban.
Please note, the proclamation does not revoke visas issued before the proclamation effective dates. Both the June 4 and December 16 Proclamations state that “No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.”
There are also a number of categorical exceptions, such as for lawful permanent residents, dual nationals who travel on passports issued by a non-ban country, asylees, refugees, diplomatic and international organization visas, and some other categories.
Case-by-case exceptions – Both the June 4 and December 16 Proclamations provide for case-by-case exceptions by the Attorney General and Secretary of State.
Advising – International Students, Scholars, Faculty, and Staff from the above 39 impacted countries and those holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents are strongly advised to consult with International Student & Scholar Services prior to any travel. ISSS advising staff are available during drop-in advising 11 am – 3 pm, Monday through Thursday or by appointment.
The following chart may help understand the two Proclamations and their impact:
| BAN TYPE | Proclamation 10949 of June 4, 2025 Effective June 9, 2025 |
Proclamation of December 16, 2025 Effective January 1, 2026 |
Alphabetized List of Countries Subject to Travel Ban on January 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Ban
Entry suspended for immigrants and all nonimmigrants. |
Original 12: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen | Original 12 will continue to be subject to full ban unchanged: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen continued.
8 more to be added: Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria added, plus any individuals who seek to travel on any travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority. |
|
| Partial Ban
Entry suspended for immigrants, and on B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas. **Except for Turkmenistan, for which entry is suspended only of immigrants. |
Original 7: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela | 4 of original 7 will continue to be subject to partial ban unchanged: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela (Laos and Sierra Leone to be moved to full ban list; Turkmenistan to have B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J ban lifted but remain subject to ban on immigrants.)
15 more to be added: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe |
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