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Immigration Travel Ban Update

immigration travel ban

After Supreme Court ruling travel for people with relationships in U.S. allowed.

While the Supreme Court lifted the hold on some aspects of the immigration travel ban, it ordered the administration to allow entry to some that the Executive Order banned. Those who already have a valid visa and to anyone who has a “bona fide relationship” with a person or organization inside the United States must be allowed to enter, SCOTUS said.  SCOTUS did not closely define those relationships, naming only relatives and business/academic relationships. The administration subsequently defined family relationships, excluding grandparents and including fiancees.  Just hours after the Trump administration’s travel order went into effect, the state of Hawaii went to federal court to challenge it, saying the order barred too many people.The state of Hawaii has filed another

The six countries affected are:

  • Iraq
  • Iran
  • Libya
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Yemen

Parts of the travel ban remain in effect.

The Court ruled that the administration could go ahead with banning other people from the six named countries entering the U.S. for  90 days. Further, the court allowed the administration to bar the entry of refugees from any country for a period of 120 days with significant exceptions. Again, the administration must allow entry to those with a bona fide relationship with a U.S. entity or person or with existing visas. SCOTUS did not specify whether or not a relationship includes working with a U.S. refugee settlement organization.

This is not the final ruling. Expect another appeal based on the lack of specific guidance about refugee agency clients. In addition, the court only ruled on the lower courts’ stays against the administration. SCOTUS will take up the Travel Ban as a whole in the next session which begins in October. The ruling does not control the level of scrutiny that travelers arriving from traveling in those six countries will receive.

Both the 4th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts stayed the implementation of the Travel Ban, pending full trials. The administration filed an emergency appeal from those stays to the SCOTUS. The high court ruled on the appeal immediately, just as their session ended.

Immigration Law attorney, Michele Taylor, is happy to talk with people about visa issues, as well as other immigration matters.