Trump's Travel Ban 3.0 will go into Effect for Now
On Monday, December 4th, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of the U.S. District Court's preliminary injunction issued for the (third version of the) Trump Administration's Travel Ban (The Presidential Proclamation Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats) in Hawaii v. Trump. This stay is effective pending the Trump Administration's appeal in the 9th Circuit and the Trump Administration's petition for a writ of certiorari (if applicable). Oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the two relevant cases, Hawaii v. Trump and IRAP v. Trump, is scheduled for this week.
This version of the ban will effect nationals from the following 8 countries to varying degrees: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Somalia and Yemen. Specifically, immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry on B-1 visas, B-2 visas, and B-1/B-2 visa of nationals of Chad is indefinitely banned; immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry except on F visas, M visas, and J visas (but will require enhanced screening/vetting requirements) of nationals of Iran is indefinitely banned; immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry on B-1 visas, B-2 visas, and B-1/B-2 visas of nationals of Libya is indefinitely banned; immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry of nationals of North Korea is indefinitely banned; immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry of nationals of Syria is indefinitely banned; nonimmigrant entry on B-1 visas, B-2 visas, and B-1/B-2 visas for certain Venezuelan officials and their immediate family members is indefinitely banned and nationals of Venezuela will be subjected to additional security measures; immigrant entry and nonimmigrant entry on B-1 visas, B-2 visas, and B-1/B-2 visas of nationals of Yemen is indefinitely banned; immigrant entry of nationals of Somalia is indefinitely banned and there will be additional security measures for nonimmigrant visa adjudications and entry of nationals of Somalia.
However, the restrictions mentioned above only apply where the national is outside of the U.S. on the effective date under Section 7 of the order, did not have a valid visa on the effective date under Section 7 of the order, and does not qualify for a visa or travel document under Section 6d of the order. It is important to note that this order does not apply to U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents and others mentioned in Section 3(b) of the order. Additionally, Section 3(c) specifies criteria regarding a waiver for these travel restrictions on a case-by-case basis.
The Trump Administration has argued that this travel ban is constitutional on the grounds of the President's power as its relate to the national security.
***Please keep in mind that this blog posting is for educational purposes only (i.e., to give you general information and a general understanding of this immigration related matter); this blog posting does not provide specific legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship.***
Sources:
1. http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/04/politics/supreme-court-travel-ban/index.html
2. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2017/12/04/17A550%20Trump%20v.%20Hawaii%20Order.pdf
3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/24/enhancing-vetting-capabilities-and-processes-detecting-attempted-entry
