The United States government has issued a travel ban that would restrict citizens of 19 countries from entering the U.S., citing national security reasons and visa overstays.
The ban will enter into effect on 9 June at 12:01 am EDT. It will entirely block citizens from 12 countries including Afghanistan, Iran, and Haiti from entering the U.S., and limit entry by citizens of seven others.
“The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security,” the White House wrote in the proclamation.
Citizens from Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen face a full ban. Nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will be unable to enter with business, tourism, student, or cultural exchange program visas.
In April, around 8,500 business and tourism visas in the B1, B2, or B1/B2 categories were issued to citizens of these 19 countries. The U.S. was the world’s most powerful travel and tourism market in 2024, with travel contributing a new high of US$2.36 trillion to the country’s economy, though visitor numbers have lagged in 2025.
For countries like Afghanistan and Iran, the proclamation cites national security threats as a concern, saying these countries do not “have appropriate screening and vetting measures”.
The order says that countries like Chad, Myanmar, and Equatorial Guinea were added to the ban list due to a high rate of overstay on certain visas.
“This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” wrote Oxfam America CEO Abby Maxman.
The ban will not apply to permanent U.S. residents and dual nationals entering on a passport from a country that is not on the ban list. It also includes exemptions for travellers on some non-immigrant visas, adoptees, and athletes and support staff traveling for major sports competitions.
U.S. President Donald Trump had directed his administration to compile a list of countries for an eventual travel ban in an executive order signed in January.
In Trump’s first term, he blocked citizens from several countries from entering the U.S. in what he referred to during his campaign as a “Muslim ban”, as most affected nations were majority-Muslim. These orders were repeatedly challenged in court, with the Supreme Court ultimately allowing a 2018 travel ban to stand.
Trump also signed a proclamation today that would suspend all student visas for Harvard University students for six months.
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