People from seven international locations won’t be able to journey to the US beginning Thursday, in keeping with up to date CBP steerage obtained by ABC Information.
Earlier this yr, President Donald Trump signed government orders limiting journey from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria — with these restrictions now going into impact Jan. 1.
This is applicable to each immigrants and nonimmigrants, in keeping with the CBO doc dated Dec. 29.
The White Home says the restrictions are for nationwide safety and public security causes, whereas immigrant advocates say the ban targets African and Muslim international locations.
President Donald Trump speaks throughout a joint press convention with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Seashore, Fla., December 29, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The journey ban continues restrictions on these from Afghanistan; Burma (Myanmar); Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; Yemen from coming into into the US.
There are additionally partial journey restrictions on folks from Venezuela and Cuba, in keeping with the doc.
It comes amid new restrictions on H1-B visas taking impact earlier this week.
The H-1B visa program permits employers to rent noncitizens which have a specialised talent or commerce and was beforehand finished considerably randomly.
The adjustments the administration made, which went into impact on Monday, enable for a weighted system to prioritize people that may make a better wage.
“The present random choice strategy of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who have been primarily in search of to import international staff at decrease wages than they might pay American staff,” mentioned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers spokesman Matthew Tragesser.
“The brand new weighted choice will higher serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled international staff,” Tragesser mentioned. “With these regulatory adjustments and others sooner or later, we’ll proceed to replace the H-1B program to assist American companies with out permitting the abuse that was harming American staff.”
Rosanna Beradi, an immigration lawyer, mentioned the change will restrict those that qualify.
“The change will severely restrict the variety of candidates who qualify underneath the H-1B program,” she informed ABC Information. “It is going to make it even more durable for worldwide college students to stay within the U.S. after commencement, which can exacerbate the mind drain. The brand new rule successfully eliminates the lottery system and prioritizes excessive wage earners.”
There’s 85,000 complete H1-B visa purposes, in keeping with USCIS.
It comes because the administration has prioritized tightening visa restrictions for different international locations.
