The Department of State has confirmed to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) that there is no immediate plan to add any other countries to the current list of seven under President Donald Trump’s “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” Executive Order signed on January 27, 2017.
In the chaos surrounding Trump’s executive order temporarily barring the entry of and cancelling the issued visas for nationals from seven countries identified as supporting terror (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen), fears surfaced about the possibility of other countries being added to the list. The DOS’s confirmation follows in the wake of the White House Counsel’s guidance that U.S. Permanent Residents (“Green Card Holders”) were not part of the ban, and statements that dual nationals holding passports from a third country as well as from one of the affected countries would be allowed to enter the U.S. using their other passport. While subject to change, of course, this official confirmation should reassure the concerned travelers monitoring the situation.
Jackson Lewis immigration attorneys will continue to monitor developments closely and will provide updates to our readers as quickly as possible.