The Trump administration has added six additional countries to the travel ban list, bringing the total to 13.
The new countries added to the list include Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Kyrgyzstan–all of which have significant Muslim populations.
Immigrant visas for those seeking permanent residency in the US will be outright banned for individuals from Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea, and Kyrgyzstan.
While those from Sudan and Tanzania will be prevented from immigrating to the US through the diversity visa lottery, which grants up to 50,000 green cards per year.
Nonimmigrant visas will not be affected by the change in immigration policy.
Since the so-called travel ban list was announced in 2017, the Trump administration has argued the country restrictions are necessary for national security reasons.
Opponents argue though that the ban is just another further attempt to hinder legal immigration from poor countries, especially those with substantial Muslim populations.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, could see the biggest hit, considering it received the second most immigrant visas last year of any African country.
Rohingya Muslims currently fleeing genocide in Myanmar could also be affected by the travel ban.
Joe Leeds, a US visa and immigration lawyer in Bangkok, states that while the travel ban will block many people from those countries from entering the US, they are still entitled to filing waivers for visa denials.
This is just the latest in a string of moves by the Trump administration to reduce legal immigration to the US, evidenced by a sharp decline.
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