Washington: US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Tuesday imposing a travel ban on nationals from seven additional countries, including Syria, as well as holders of Palestinian passports.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the proclamation adds five new countries to the ban, namely Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. It also imposes full restrictions and entry limitations on two countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions: Laos and Sierra Leone.
The proclamation continues to enforce full restrictions and entry limitations on nationals from the original 12 high-risk countries, which include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Partial restrictions remain in place for nationals from four of the seven original high-risk countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
Additionally, the proclamation introduces partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 more countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Exceptions are provided for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves US national interests.
The proclamation also narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers.