On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued a new and expanded Travel Proclamation - Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect The Security Of The United States. This Proclamation is a new and expanded travel ban that builds on the travel Proclamation 1094 issued on June 4th, 2025.This message provides general information.
Effective Date:
This new proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 1, 2026.
Who is directly impacted?
- This Travel Proclamation does not affect individuals from all countries. Suspension of entry to the U.S. applies only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who:
- Are outside of the U.S. on or after 12:01 EST January 1, 2026, and
- Do not have a valid visa on or after January 1, 2026
- Entry to the U.S. is suspended for all immigrants/nonimmigrants nationals from the following countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. New additions now include: Burkina Faso, Laos , Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria and individuals with Palestinian Authority Documents.
- Entry to the U.S. is suspended for immigrants, nonimmigrant B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visa nationals from Burundi,Cuba,Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela and new additions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- Note that the Proclamation specifically states that a visa issued before the effective date of the proclamation will not be revoked.
Exceptions:
- This Travel Proclamation does not affect individuals from all countries. Suspension of entry to the U.S. applies only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who:
- Are outside of the U.S. on or after 12:01 EST January 1, 2026, and
- Do not have a valid visa on or after January 1, 2026
- The ban provisions are applicable only to nationals of the subject country who are outside the U.S. without a valid visa as of January 1, 2026. Individuals who are outside the United States on that date but have a visa that is valid as of January 1 2026, would not be impacted by the ban.
- The proclamation includes additional exceptions for lawful permanent residents, dual nationals traveling on a passport from a non-designated country, individuals granted asylum or refugee status, holders of diplomatic and international organization visas, and athletes participating in events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
- Some provisions exist for exemptions based on the national interest from the Attorney General/ DOJ, Secretary of State/DOS, Secretary of Homeland Security/DHS
Recommendations:
Because the current situation is changing moment-to-moment, ISS recommends against travel outside the U.S. for individuals from the impacted countries. ISS urges impacted individuals with valid visas to enter the U.S. prior to the travel ban effective date, if possible. ISS is sending additional directed communications and support to students, scholars, and employees who may be impacted.
While individuals who hold F and J visa classifications are impacted by some of the provisions, H1B visa holders are not impacted in those situations. Individuals on immigrant and nonimmigrant visas from all other countries should be aware of additional issues of concern: increased screenings and travel delays, and future changes in visa issuance for additional countries. For the near future, ISS recommends minimizing international travel due to the changing nature of the new administration’s policies on visas and U.S. entry.
