Donald Trump’s second attempt at a travel ban is set to be more expansive than its predecessor. The travel restrictions stem from an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in the Oval Office on January 20, directing the State Department and Homeland Security officials to identify countries with “deficient” vetting and screening processes.
The review period expires on March 21. It is yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making it subject to change. Still, the New York Times obtained a copy of the list made by the State Department weeks ago.
Reports indicate that the new travel ban will have some variations from previous versions.
A final list and full report on the affected countries are expected to be released later this week.
The restrictions are divided into three categories: countries facing a complete ban, and those with heavily restricted travel. A third group consists of 26 countries that have been given 60 days to address security concerns or risk partial travel suspensions.
This round will be more restrictive and organised than the Trump administration’s first term, which, at the peak of its ban, encompassed 13 countries in total.
Originally called the Muslim ban, Trump had issued the controversial travel ban targeting seven Muslim-majority countries. The order also indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the US.
This time, the ban is set to feature those nations and dozens more countries – a total of 43 – slotting them into three different groups.
Here’s what to expect from the revamped ban:
Colour, tier system with poor vetting process
The executive order enforced an intensified vetting of foreigners seeking to enter the US on the grounds of detecting national security threats.
Countries will be categorised into three tiers: full bans (red), partial suspensions (orange), and those given 60 days to improve security measures (yellow).
All the countries which were part of Trump’s 2017 ban appear again.
The red category—facing complete visa suspensions—includes familiar names such as Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. New additions include Afghanistan and Cuba.
Partial suspensions (orange) apply to countries like Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, and South Sudan. Citizens from these countries seeking a United States visa will be subject to mandatory in-person interviews.
A longer list of 22 countries falls into the yellow category, meaning they must address security concerns or risk harsher measures.
This tier reportedly includes the following nations: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Turkmenistan and Vanuatu.
Some inclusions are surprising
Bhutan, a peaceful Himalayan nation known for its “Gross National Happiness” policy, appears on the list despite its small population.
Bhutan’s monarchy enforces strict isolationist policies to protect its culture, limiting trade, tourism, and migration. Prioritizing well-being over economic growth, its former king famously championed “Gross National Happiness” over GDP.
The likely reason?
A high visa overstay rate—though in absolute terms, that amounts to just 23 people. Bhutanese visitors had a high visa overstay rate in FY 2022, but the absolute numbers were small—112 overstays out of 255 visitors, with only 17 deportations.
Compare that to China, which had an overstay rate of 3.67 percent, which comes to 13,805 people. Or Russia, which has an overstay rate of 7.51 percent, with real numbers being 4,057 people.
Similarly, the leaders of the small island nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts Nevis and Saint Lucia say they did not receive any communication from the United States on the potential ban nor on concerns raised about their governance.
