Original Date Announced

President Trump issued Proclamation 10998, which implements new and additional travel restrictions on nationals from 20 countries. The proclamation announces a total ban on entry for citizens of Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, and the Palestinian authority, and a partial ban on entry for citizens from Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Proclamation 10998 builds on Proclamation 10949, issued in June 2025, which banned entry into the United States by citizens of 12 countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen) and partially suspends the entry of citizens of 7 countries (Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela) as visitors or students. Proclamation 10998 will subject citizens of Laos and Sierra Leone to a complete entry ban, superseding the partial entry ban announced in June. It also alters the partial entry ban applied to Turkmenistan, lifting the ban for nonimmigrant visas including B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, but retaining the ban for citizens of Turkmenistan applying for entry as immigrants. Combined, the two proclamations fully restrict entry of nationals from 19 countries and Palestine, and partially restrict entry of nationals from 20 countries.

Proclamation 10998 contains limited exceptions for lawful permanent residents, visaholders in certain categories including athletes and government officials, and those for whom DHS determines that "travel by the individual would serve a United States national interest."

It will be effective January 1, 2026.

Trump 2.0 [ID #2122]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

White House - Fact Sheet: President Trump Further Restricts and Limits the Entry of Foreign Nationals

White House Fact Sheet on proclamation described in this entry.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.12.19 DOS - Update to Suspension of Visa Issuance

DOS announced that in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998, the U.S. is fully or partially suspending entry for and visa issuance to nationals of 39 countries.

Effective January 1, 2026, DOS is fully suspending visa issuance to nationals of the following 19 countries including Afghanistan, Burma, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and to individuals traveling on any travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.

DOS is partially suspending the issuance of all immigrant visas, nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas, and F, M, J student and exchange visitor visas to nationals of 19 countries including: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. For Turkmenistan, DOS is partially suspending all immigrant visa issuance.

Proclamation 10998 eliminates categorical exceptions provided in Presidential Proclamation 10949 for the following categories of nationals subject to the suspension on entry under Proclamation 10998: immediate family immigrant visas (IR-1/CR-1, IR-2/CR-2, IR-5); adoption visas (IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, IH-4); and Afghan Special Immigrant Visas.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.01.01 USCIS PM-602-0194 - Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries

In response to Proclamation 10998, USCIS issued a policy memo announcing that it will conduct a "comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview" of all noncitizens who are nationals of or born in any of the countries listed in Proclamation 10998 and who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. This includes a "comprehensive re-review" of approved benefit requests implicated in Proclamation 10998 that were approved on or after January 20, 2021.

The memo also directs USCIS personnel to place an "adjudicative hold" on pending benefit applications for noncitizens who are nationals of or born in any of the countries listed in Proclamation 10998, regardless of entry date, pending a "comprehensive review" of whether the noncitizen is: listed in the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS); inadmissible or deportable on terrorism- or security-related grounds; associated with criminal or other activity that "may pose a risk of serious harm or danger to the community"; or unable to establish their identity as required by Proclamations 10949 and 10998. Family-based immigrant visa applications from family members of noncitizens subject to the hold are no longer broadly exempt from the Proclamation 10998 restrictions. The memo lists 10 exceptions to the hold.

The memo further directs USCIS personnel to conduct a "comprehensive review of all policies, procedures, and screening and vetting processes for benefit requests" for noncitizens from countries listed in Proclamation 10998.

USCIS notes that this memo does not supersede the guidance in the non-public version of its December 1, 2025, memo, "Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries," except with regard to the 10 exceptions to the adjudicative hold listed in the new memo. A public version of the memo was released on December 2.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.01.02 Doe v. Trump Amended Complaint

A group of 197 immigrants filed an amended complaint in their suit challenging the pause on their pending applications for immigration benefits based on Proclamation 10998 and the January 1, 2026, USCIS policy memo "Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries." The suit alleges that USCIS' actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Judge Julia E. Kobick of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered that electronic case records, including the complaint, will be unavailable to the public for at least 30 days from the date the suit was filed because the suit relates to immigration benefits. Doe v. Trump, 25-cv-13946 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**