Dec. 18, 2017

Travel Ban 3.0 is a Go, Says the Supreme Court

Despite legal challenges and separate statewide rulings, the Supreme Court has given the third version of the Trump administration’s travel ban the green light.

 The administration can now fully enforce its restrictions on travel from eight nations – Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Restrictions vary between the nations, but most citizens will find themselves unable to emigrate permanently to the U.S., and some may further be barred from even visiting on a temporary basis, whether they intend to work, study, or take a vacation in the United States. The restrictions are laid out here.

 

What’s Changed?

The first version of the ban was issued in January 2017. This initial version immediately barred citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States. It also barred Syrian refugees from entering the country, and halted the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. After being in effect for one week, it was put on hold by the courts, before being withdrawn in February. 

Following the withdrawal, a second version was issued with minor tweaks. Iraq was removed from the ban, but the remaining countries were barred from traveling into the United States for 90 days. The ban on Syrian refugees was raised slightly, banning them entry for only 120 days, as opposed to the previous indefinite ban. In this version, permanent residents and current visa holders were exempted from the travel ban. The courts put this version on hold before its start date, but the Supreme Court eventually put it into effect from June to its expiration in September.

The third and current version of the ban was issued at the end of September, put on hold before going into effect, and allowed to proceed for those without bona fide relationships to the United States in November. No changes have been made between the original issuance of this version of the ban and the allowance of the ban to go into effect in full on December 4th, 2017.

 

What Can I Do?

If you or your loved one are affected by this ban, contact Whiteman Osterman & Hanna’s experienced immigration team today.