The Presidential Proclamation issued on December 16, 2025 expanded the list of countries subject to full and partial travel bans.
The effective date of this Proclamation is 12:01 AM EST on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
Under the proclamation, entry into the United States will be fully suspended for nationals of 19 countries, unless an exception applies. The updated list of countries subject to the full ban is:
Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The Proclamation also adds full restrictions and entry limitations on individuals holding Palestinian-Authority issued travel documents.
Under the proclamation, entry into the United States will be partially suspended for nationals of 19 countries unless an exception applies. The partial ban suspends entry into the U.S. by nonimmigrants holding B-1, B‑2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas. The updated list of countries subject to the partial ban is:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Zambia, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
This new Proclamation lifts the ban on its non-immigrant visas for Turkmenistan, while maintaining the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants to the U.S.
ISSO is reaching out to all affected incoming and continuing students and scholars from these countries and will continue to keep our community posted as additional information is issued.
If you have questions or concerns, or would like to speak to an ISSO adviser for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact us.
