President Trump issued a sweeping new proclamation this week expanding U.S. travel restrictions to include 20 additional countries and the Palestinian Authority, more than doubling the number of nations subject to travel curbs under his administration’s immigration policy.
The policy change, set to take effect on January 1, 2026, broadens travel bans and limits first announced on June 4, 2025, that affected citizens from 19 countries.
It comes days after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) submitted a proposal in the Federal Registrar that would require travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries (which includes many countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand) to submit five years of social media history as part of their Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application.
“This policy could have a chilling effect on travel to the United States,” the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) said in a statement about the proposed changes to the ESTA process.
While requiring ESTA applicants to provide their social media history is merely a proposal at this stage, the expended travel bans and restrictions will go into effect at the start of 2026. Here’s what to know.
The countries that face a travel ban under Trump’s policy
The initial ban that went into effect in June affected these countries—meaning nationals of these countries are prohibited from entering the USA on both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, unless they qualify for one of a handful of exceptions:
- Afghanistan
- Chad
- The Republic of Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Myanmar
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
According to a White House fact sheet, the newly expanded ban adds full entry restrictions for these countries and territories:
- Burkina Faso
- Laos (previously faced restrictions but not an outright ban)
- Mali
- Niger
- Palestinian Authority
- Sierra Leone (previously faced restrictions but not an outright ban)
- South Sudan
- Syria
Notably, the new proclamation fully bars entry to citizens of Laos and Sierra Leone (two countries that previously faced a partial ban) and to individuals traveling on Palestinian Authority–issued passports.
The U.S. State Department was directed to cease issuing visas for the original affected countries in the restricted categories, effective June 9, 2025, and has received the same orders for the additional countries starting January 1, 2026.
Existing visa holders and green card holders are not affected but may face additional screening upon entry. Some of the other individuals exempt from these restrictions include nationals with dual citizenship (who can use non-banned passports), diplomats, athletes, coaches traveling for major sporting events (like the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Olympics), and individuals involved in an adoption.
The countries that face travel restrictions under Trump’s new policy
In June, the Trump administration placed increased travel restrictions on visitors from:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
Under the newly expanded policy that goes into effect on January 1, these are the 15 additional countries that face stricter travel limits:
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Benin
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Dominica
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Nationals of these countries will face significant hurdles to travel to the United States, whether for tourism, work, study, or immigration.
Going forward, citizens of the countries listed above will not be granted certain types of visas, like B-1/B-2 (types of tourist and business visas) or F, M, and J (types of student and exchange visitor visas). They may, however, be able to apply for other visas, although paths of entry to the United States will be severely limited.
The January 1, 2026, changes will also extend to spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens, as well as to international students.
What is the reason behind the Trump administration’s travel ban?
The White House framed the expansion as a necessary step to protect national security and public safety. Officials said issues such as high visa overstay rates, widespread corruption, and unreliable civil documents make comprehensive background checks difficult.
“It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security and public safety, incite hate crimes, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” read a proclamation released December 16 by the White House.
In a statement from the White House in June, Trump justified the travel ban by citing national security concerns, saying his administration was specifically targeting countries with high visa overstay rates and inadequate vetting systems.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” Trump said via the White House’s social media channels at the time.
In a video released by the White House this summer, Trump emphasized that the ban aims to protect Americans from potential terrorist threats and individuals who may exploit U.S. immigration laws. At the time, the administration also pointed to a recent terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, carried out by an immigrant from Egypt who threw gasoline bombs into a gathering of pro-Israel demonstrators, as a catalyst for the policy (however, Egypt isn’t one of the countries on the restricted list).
The more recent move follows heightened debate in Washington after the arrest of an Afghan national linked to the shooting of two National Guard members (one of whom died) in late November—a development Trump administration officials point to as evidence of risks in current immigration policies.
In June, Trump said that the list of banned countries could change if authorities in those countries made “material improvements” to their vetting processes. So far only Turkmenistan has seen a change in its restriction. The administration said that because “Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress since the previous Proclamation, this new Proclamation lifts the ban on its nonimmigrant visas, while maintaining the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants.”
Human-rights groups challenge Trump’s travel restrictions
Human-rights groups have criticized the policy as discriminatory, noting that many of the affected countries are Muslim-majority and have predominantly non-white populations.
Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, an organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice, told the Associated Press, “This policy is not about national security—it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States.”
The bans and restrictions follow a January 2025 executive order aimed at enhancing security measures directed toward foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States. They recall a travel ban Trump implemented in 2017, which restricted entry from five Muslim-majority countries—Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen—as well as from North Korea and Venezuela, with some exceptions.
That ban faced myriad legal challenges, but it was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. In 2020, Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sudan were added to the list, each dealt its own rules and exceptions.
Former President Joe Biden rescinded the travel ban on his first day in office in 2021.
This story was originally published in June 2025 and was updated on December 17, 2025, to include current information.
