As of December 22, the U.S. government announced the following changes:

• All U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications for people from the countries listed in the June and December 2025 travel bans are paused.
• All asylum decisions are paused. 
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers can consider if a person is from a country travel ban to decide applications that are discretionary, like asylee applications for green cards. Although USCIS has only announced changes to this policy for people from countries listed in the June 2025 travel ban, it is likely that the changes will apply to people from countries listed in the December 2025 travel ban as well.
• The U.S. government will review immigration applications that have already been approved for people from countries included in the June and December 2025 travel bans who came to the U.S. since 2021.

You can learn more about these updates here. 

This article was last updated on January 15, 2025

Summary

In June 2025, the U.S. government announced a “travel ban” that prevents people from certain countries from getting visas and entering the United States. 

In December 2025, the U.S. government announced some updates to the travel ban. It added new countries to the travel ban list and took away some of the previous exceptions to the ban. These changes went into effect on January 1, 2026.

In January 2026, the U.S. government announced they will be pausing giving immigrant visas to people from certain countries.

Here are some of the most important things to know about the travel ban and the immigrant visa pause:

• There are two different types of travel bans, both with exceptions
• There is separately a pause on giving immigrant visas.
• Whether you or your family member can enter the U.S. depends on a lot of different factors, including the type of visa you applied for and the country you are from.
• Every case is different. If you have a question about how this affects you specifically, you should talk to an immigration lawyer.

This article contains general information about the travel ban and the pause on giving immigrant visas to people from certain countries. When we say you are “from” a country, we mean that you hold that country’s nationality. If you were born in a country mentioned here, but you are not a national of that country, this information does not apply to you.

 If you want more detailed information about what the travel ban could mean for you:

• If you are outside the United States… 
  • And you are from Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, or you have a Palestinian Authority-issued travel document, click here.
  • And you are from Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, or Zimbabwe, click here.
• If you are inside the United States, click here.

What is the travel ban?

The travel ban was announced through a proclamation issued by the President of the United States. It said that many people from certain countries would not be allowed to enter the U.S. starting on June 9, 2025. 

On December 16, 2025, the President issued a new proclamation that announced updates to the travel ban and how it works. These changes go into effect on January 1, 2026.

What countries are affected by the travel ban?

There are two groups of countries listed in the travel ban. On January 1, 2026, the list of affected countries will change.

• The first group is “fully restricted” countries. These countries have much stricter rules for entry. If you are from one of these countries, you generally cannot enter the United States, no matter what type of visa you are using, unless you qualify for an exception.

  
  Starting on January 1, 2026, the “fully restricted” country list will include: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It will also include individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.
   

• The second group is “partially restricted” countries. If you are from a “partially restricted” country, you generally cannot enter the United States if you are using certain types of visas unless you qualify for an exception. With other visas, however, you may still be able to enter the United States. 
  
  Starting on January 1, 2026, the “partially restricted” country list will include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Citizens of Turkmenistan will face different restrictions from the rest of the countries on the list.

Am I also affected by the travel ban if I am from a country on this list, but I am currently inside the United States?

You should not be affected by the travel ban itself, but there are other new updates that could impact your immigration application or status. Visit this article to learn more about these new immigration policies.

You can also visit this article to learn more about what the travel ban means for people currently in the U.S.

Is this travel ban permanent? How long does a proclamation last?

It is unclear how long the travel ban will last. According to the December 2025 presidential proclamation, the Secretary of State will submit a report explaining whether any parts of the travel ban should be changed or ended within 180 days of December 16, 2025. The Secretary of State will then have to submit a similar report every 180 days. It is possible that the terms of the travel ban will change again after each of the review periods. At this time, we do not know how long the ban will last, or what changes may happen in the future. If there are any changes to the travel ban, this article will be updated.

What is the 2026 Pause on Issuing Immigrant Visas?

In January 2026, the U.S. government announced that it is pausing giving all immigrant visas to people who are from the  following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

The U.S. government said that people applying for immigrant visas who are from these countries can still send in visa applications and attend visa interviews, but the U.S. government will not give an immigrant visa to people from these countries during the pause. This means that even if your case is approved and you are waiting to get your visa, the U.S. Embassy may deny your visa under something called “221(g)”. This is a section of the U.S. laws about immigration. A denial under 221(g) is not a final denial – it just means that your visa cannot be approved until the pause is over and you have cleared security checks. We do not know when, or if, the government will end this pause.

Who is not affected by the immigrant visa pause? 

You are not affected by this pause if:

• You already have an immigrant visa, or 
• You are from multiple countries and you apply with a valid passport from a country not on the list above, or
• You are applying for a nonimmigrant visa