President Donald Trump earlier this month announced ban on travel from a dozen countries and partial restrictions from seven more in an effort to protect the United States from terrorist and public safety threats.
The ban fully restricts or limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries “found to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States” including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Seven countries will face partial travel restrictions, including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The White House says the order makes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, people with existing visas, certain visa types, and anyone whose entry would support American national interests.
According to the White House, the goal of the ban is to pressure foreign governments to cooperate on security, help enforce United States immigration laws, and support key national security and counterterrorism priorities.
The restrictions follow a January executive order in which national security agencies were told to assess the security risks of various countries. That review led to the current list.
Here are the reasons the Trump administration says each country is facing restrictions:
Full Restrictions:
Afghanistan
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan lacks a reliable government to issue valid passports and civil documents and does not have adequate screening and vetting measures, according to the Trump administration. Furthermore, Afghanistan has a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of nearly 10% and a student (F), vocational (M), and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of nearly 30%.
Burma
Burma has extremely high visa overstay rates — over 27% for tourist/business visas (B1/B2) and more than 42% for student (F), vocational (M), and exchange visitor (J) visas. Burma has also refused to take back its citizens who are ordered to be deported from the U.S. The government added that Burma has “historically not cooperated with the United States to accept back their removable nationals.”
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Chad
Chad has one of the worst visa overstay rates, with nearly 50% for business/tourist (B1/B2) visas and over 55% for student (F), vocational (M), and exchange (J) visas in 2023. In 2022, the B1/B2 overstay rate was also high at 37.12%. The U.S. says these numbers indicate “a blatant disregard for U.S. immigration laws.”
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, which has been embroiled in conflict for more than 30 years, also has a visa overstay issue with a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of almost 30% and student (F) visas, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visas, overstay rate of about 35%.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, located in central Africa, had a business/tourist (B1/B2) overstay rate of 21.98% and student (F) visas, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 70.18%.
Eritrea
The United States questions the competence of the central authority for issuance of passports or civil documents in Eritrea, and says it does not have access to criminal records for Eritrean nationals. The east African country has also historically refused to accept back its deported citizens. Its tourist/business (B1/B2) visa overstay rate is about 20% and student (F) visas, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate is about 55%.
Haiti
Currently overrun by murderous gangs, Haiti had hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens flood into the United States during the Biden administration. According to the Trump administration the “influx harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats.” Haiti also lacks “a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States.” Haiti had a tourist/business (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 31.38% and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of about 25.05%.
Iran
Iran, a leading state sponsor of terrorism, routinely fails to cooperate with the United States government in identifying security risks and has historically failed to accept back its nationals eligible for deportation.
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Libya
Libya lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents. The country’s historical terrorism presence amplifies the risk of Libyan nationals entering the United States.
Somalia
Somalia also lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents, does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures, and has historically refused to take back its nationals eligible for deportation. The Trump administration says Somalia differs from the other countries due to its government lacking command and control of its territory, “which greatly limits the effectiveness of its national capabilities in a variety of respects.” Somalia is also a “terrorist safe haven” where radicals travel to join terrorist groups that pose a threat to the United States.
Sudan
Sudan, located in northern Africa, lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and lacks appropriate screening and vetting measures. Sudan had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 26.30% and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of about 28.40%.
Yemen
Yemen, which is currently overrun by the U.S.-designated terror group, the Houthis, lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. The Trump administration has bombed the group for weeks in an effort to restore global trade that the Iran-backed proxy disrupted.
Partial Restrictions:
Burundi
Burundi, located in eastern Africa, had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 15.35% and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of about 17.52%.
Cuba
Cuba, a designated state sponsor of terrorism, does not cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement information with the United States and has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals. Cuba had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 7.69% and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 18.75%.
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Laos
Laos, located in southeast Asia, had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 34.77% and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 6.49%. Laos has also historically failed to accept back its removable nationals.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, located in western Africa, has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals. It had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 15.43 percent and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 35.83 percent.
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Togo
Togo, also located in western Africa, had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 19.03 percent and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 35.05 percent.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan, a country in Central Asia, had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 15.35 percent and a student (F) visa, vocational (M) visas, and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 21.74 percent.
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Venezuela
Venezuela, a socialist-run country known for wrongfully detaining American citizens, has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals. It also does not have a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and lacks appropriate screening and vetting measures. Venezuela had a business/tourist (B1/B2) visa overstay rate of 9.83 percent.
