WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has imposed full or partial travel restrictions on more countries, expanding list from previous 19 to 39 in order to avert potential security threats.
The White House said in a statement that the president signed a proclamation “expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”
Seven New Countries Added to Full Travel Ban List
Trump has signed the proclamation adding seven new countries to the full travel ban list: Laos, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.
It is recalled that Laos and Sierra Leone had previously been facing partial travel restrictions.
15 New Countries Facing Partial Restrictions
The US has expanded the list of countries facing partial restrictions by adding 15 new countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests.
The Proclamation narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers.
It acknowledged that Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress since the previous Proclamation. Therefore, this new Proclamation lifts the ban on its nonimmigrant visas, while maintaining the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” tread the statement.
Earlier this year, Trump had imposed travel ban on several countries after a shooting incident near the White House. The incident involved an Afghan national who had entered the country in 2021.
