Immigration

United States | Presidential Proclamation expands restrictions on entry of certain foreign nationals

Summary

Effective January 1, 2026, the United States expands full entry restrictions to nationals of the 12 countries specified in a proclamation from June 2025 (also referred to as the “June travel ban”) to a total of 19 countries as well as to individuals with travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. Additionally, the partial restrictions set forth in the June travel ban will apply to a total of 20 countries.

The detail

On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued a Proclamation entitled “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.” Building on Executive Order 14161, issued on January 20, 2025, and Proclamation 10949, issued on June 4, 2025, the new Proclamation reaffirms and modifies some aspects of the June travel ban and expands entry restrictions to nationals of additional countries.

Countries affected

See the table below for the countries affected and the scope of the visa suspension per country.

 

Countries impacted by Proclamation
Country / Territory	Restriction	Impact (exceptions below)
Afghanistan	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Angola	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Antigua and Barbuda	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Benin	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Burkina Faso	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Burma	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Burundi	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Chad	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Republic of Congo	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Côte d’Ivoire	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Cuba	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Dominica	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Equatorial Guinea	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Eritrea	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Haiti	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Gabon	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
The Gambia	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Iran	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Laos	Changes from Partial to Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Libya	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Malawi	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Mali	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Mauritania	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Niger	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Nigeria	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Palestinian Authority	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Senegal	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Sierra Leone	Changes from Partial to Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Somalia	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
South Sudan	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Sudan	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Syria	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Tanzania	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Tonga	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Togo	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Turkmenistan	Changes from Full to Partial	Ban lifted on individuals holding nonimmigrant visas while maintaining the suspension of nationals as immigrants
Venezuela	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Yemen	Full	All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas suspended
Zambia	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended
Zimbabwe	Partial	All immigrant and nonimmigrant B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas suspended

Exceptions set forth in the Proclamation

 The Proclamation states that the suspensions of and limitations on entry pursuant to the proclamation shall only apply to foreign nationals of the designated countries who (1) are outside the US on the applicable effective date of the proclamation (January 1, 2026) and (2) do not have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of of the proclamation.

Furthermore, the suspension and limitation of entry does not apply to the following individuals:

• Lawful Permanent Residents of the US
• Any dual national of a country designated in the Proclamation when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a country not so designated
• Foreign nationals traveling with a valid nonimmigrant visa in the following classifications: A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6
• Any athlete or member of an athletic team, including the coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the US
• Diplomats with special immigrant visas for U.S. government employees
• Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran

Additionally, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis where (1) the Attorney General finds in their discretion that travel by the individual would advance a critical US national interest advancing the Department of Justice or (2) individuals for whom the Secretary of State finds in their discretion that travel by the individual would serve a national interest.

The impact

The travel ban is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, and will materially affect the ability of noncitizens from the designated countries listed above to enter the United States.

Employers with employees who are nationals of the affected countries are urged to promptly evaluate the potential impact of the ban and to implement appropriate measures to mitigate operational disruptions. This includes advising impacted employees to return to the US before the restrictions take effect on January 1st and restrict international travel until the ban is lifted.

Vialto will continue to monitor the situation and provide further guidance as it becomes available.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Manish Daftari
Partner

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