Expanded Travel Ban and Heightened Discretionary Review

Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria. Partial entry restrictions apply to nationals of 20 additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, Venezuela, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Turkmenistan. These restrictions affect both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas and take effect January 1, 2026.

At the same time, USCIS and the Department of State have paused final decisions on cases involving nationals of affected countries. Officers have also been instructed to apply heightened discretionary review using a positive-and-negative factors analysis, weighing individual equities such as family ties, lawful travel history, employment, education, and humanitarian factors against security or admissibility concerns. Applicants should expect increased scrutiny, longer processing times, and additional evidence requests.

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