U.S. entry regulations lifted for nationals of 13 countries

The travel ban created in 2017 by former President Trump, which affected citizens of 13 countries around the world, was abolished by the new Biden administration. Meanwhile, the extensive travel bans in the fight against the coronavirus remain in place. Read below about the changes for nationals from predominantly Muslim and African countries.

U.S. travel ban due to coronavirus

Due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus, an entry ban for the United States is currently in place for almost all foreign travelers. The U.S. government had gradually expanded the Corona Travel Ban since January 2020. The measures against the spread of the coronavirus affect, among others, travelers from Europe.

Image of the U.S. Supreme Court

Travel Ban abolished

Lifting of the U.S. travel ban for certain countries

In its "Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States," the new U.S. administration of Joe Biden has, among other things, lifted the so-called Muslim Ban with immediate effect.

The visa and travel restrictions had previously affected nationals of the following 13 nations who were outside the United States and did not have a valid U.S. visa:

Eritrea
Iran
Kyrgyzstan
Libya
Myanmar
Nigeria
North Korea
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Tanzania
Venezuela
Yemen

Note: Although citizens and dual nationals of the above-mentioned countries can theoretically apply for U.S. visas and enter the United States again, they may be confronted with other hurdles. Due to the Corona Travel Ban, the freedom to travel and apply for a visa may still be restricted for certain travelers and visa categories, or a "National Interest Exception" may be required (e.g. for applicants from the Schengen area). Furthermore, visa issuance may be difficult or impossible at present due to the still very limited consular services worldwide.

In addition, the Presidential Proclamation identified other issues to be implemented depending on and considering the COVID-19 situation:

U.S. consulates are directed to resume pending nonimmigrant and immigrant proceedings of nationals of Muslim Ban-affected countries and, if necessary, to issue U.S. visas to these individuals.
Immigrant visas denied under former President Trump's Executive Order are to be reviewed and reopened as appropriate.
U.S. consulates are directed not to consider individuals who were once denied a U.S. visa based on ex-President Trump's Executive Order as having a negative "prior conviction" when reapplying for visas.
During a transitional period of 120 days, the relevant U.S. authorities are to review, among other things, the DS-5535 form and the collection of social media data for reasonableness or efficiency.

Overall, U.S. President Biden ordered the revocation of several Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders issued by the previous U.S. administration in connection with stricter security checks for visa applications.

Review of the U.S. travel ban for certain countries

The Muslim Ban or Trump Travel Ban referred to a series of executive actions issued by former U.S. President Donald Trump since 2017 to protect the U.S. against terrorist attacks. The first order, Executive Order 13769, issued on January 27, 2017, first placed strict restrictions on travel to the United States for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. In subsequent years, travel restrictions were increasingly expanded.

This was due to regular security reviews. If certain countries did not comply with the requirements of the U.S. government at the time, for example with regard to security standards, passports, communications, etc., they were placed on the list of countries with restricted entry rights.

However, these reviews could also result in countries being removed from the travel ban list and their citizens thus no longer affected by the travel restrictions if the requirements had been met in the meantime (this happened, for example, with Iraq and Chad).