[Broader FAQs about traveling to the US can be found here.]

[FAQs related to registration and document requirements can be found here.]

 

Last updated: June 20, 2025

On June 4, 2025, Donald Trump issued a proclamation that bans travel to the US impacting travelers from several countries. In addition, on June 14, the US Department of State circulated an internal diplomatic cable that reportedly includes a list of 36 countries whose citizens may be subject to travel restrictions. This FAQ summarizes what we know and what we don’t know about how these bans will work.

 

Important: If you are currently a CoveyLaw client and have a passport from one of the banned countries, please contact your attorney as soon as possible to make sure you understand how this does or does not impact you. 

 

Who is affected by Trump’s June 14 travel ban?

No one yet. The US Department of State cable reportedly included a list of 36 countries whose citizens may be subject to travel restrictions, indicating that the listed countries may be subject to unspecified travel restrictions as soon as mid-August if they cannot address US concerns and comply with new State Department requirements. Sources that have reviewed the diplomatic cable report that the concerns include a lack of a competent or cooperative government, involvement in acts of terrorism in the United States, or antisemitic and anti-American activity.

The countries that could face a full or a partial ban if they do not address these concerns within the next 60 days are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

 

Who is affected by Trump’s June 4 travel ban?

1. People traveling on passports from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will be barred from entering the US and will not be issued visas, unless they had a valid visa or were physically present in the US on June 9, 2025. 
2. People who are traveling to the US on B1, B2, B1/B2, F, M and J visas, and who are traveling on passports from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, will be barred from entering the US and will not be issued visas, unless they had a valid visa or were physically present in the US on June 9, 2025.

 

Who is not affected by Trump’s June 4 travel ban?

• People who had a valid US visa on June 9, 2025
• People who were in the US on June 9, 2025
• US lawful permanent residents (green card holders)
• Dual nationals traveling on a passport from a non-designated country
• Holders of certain diplomatic or official visas (e.g., A, G, NATO categories)
• Participants (athletes, coaches, essential support personnel, etc.) in major international sports events (e.g., the World Cup or the Olympics) and their immediate relatives (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents)
• Immigrants with immediate family visas specifically for spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of US citizens (IR/CR visas) and clear family ties
• Adoptees under designated visa types
• Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders and US government-related SIVs
• Persecuted minorities from Iran issued immigrant visas

 

When did it go into effect?

The ban went into effect June 9, 2025, at 12:01 am EDT.

 

Is it possible to get an exception to the travel ban?

Yes, the proclamation provides that it may be possible to seek an exception to the ban if the individual’s travel to the US would be in the US’s national interest. It remains to be seen how difficult this will be to prove.