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On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued the proclamation, “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States,” further restricting the entry of certain foreign nationals into the United States. Updating and modifying the previous Executive Order 14161 and Proclamation 10949, this new proclamation fully restricts the entry of nationals of 19 counties and those with travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. It also imposes partial entry restrictions to 20 countries.  The full proclamation is found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/restricting-and-limiting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-security-of-the-united-states/.  Below, we provide a summary:

Full restrictions and entry limitations:

• The Proclamation continues to fully restrict the entry of foreign nationals from the following 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
• It also includes full restrictions and entry limitations to the following new countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Laos, and Sierra Leone as well as individuals traveling with Palestinian Authority-issued documents.

Partial restrictions and entry limitations: 

• The Proclamation continues to impose partial restrictions and entry limitations of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas to the following countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
• It also imposes these partial restrictions and entry limitations to 15 new countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• It lifts the ban on nonimmigrant visas for nationals of Turkmenistan, but it maintains the suspension of entry as immigrants.  

Scope: 

• These suspensions and limitations on entry apply to foreign nationals from the countries listed above who are outside the United States AND do not have a valid visa stamp on and after January 1, 2026.
• These suspensions and limitations on entry do NOT apply to lawful permanent residents (AKA green card holders) as well as those with dual citizenship when traveling with a passport of a not restricted country.
• There are other exemptions including certain visa categories for athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests.
• It removes as categorical exemption immigrant visas for family members of individuals in the United States, but it allows for case-by-case waivers.
• Important: It is expected that USCIS will soon place a hold on all asylum applications and other pending immigration benefits for foreign nationals from all additional counties included into this new Proclamation.  USCIS may also conduct a re-review of approved benefits requests for foreign nationals from these countries.   This would be similar to USCIS Policy Memorandum issued on December 02, 2025.  https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0192-PendingApplicationsHighRiskCountries-20251202.pdf