Appeals Court Allows Travel Ban to Partly Take Effect for 6 Countries
November 21, 2017
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court from the U.S. Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled that the government can ban entry of people who come from six predominantly Muslim countries, if they do not have a “bona fide relationship” with close family or an entity (e.g., employer or school) in the U.S. The appeals court decision overturns a portion of a lower court’s decision which blocked the ban’s application to any visitors from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, with or without ties.
Visa applicants from the 6 countries, even with ties to the U.S., should anticipate delays in application processing times while the government determines whether their ties to the U.S. are sufficient to overcome the ban.
The latest decision has no effect on the most recent travel ban’s application to North Korea and government officials and their family members from Venezuela, who continue to be restricted from entering the U.S.
