Supreme Court reinstates travel ban: Here’s what you need to know

The Supreme Court reversed actions of the lower federal courts on June 26, after allowing President Trump to reinstate his immigration travel ban. According to the ruling, foreign nationals from six majority-Muslim countries – Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Iran – “who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States,” will be denied entry to the United States for the next 90 days.

Though this updated order is far less restrictive than the president’s initial version, many immigrants looking to gain access to the United States will still be impacted.

Who is affected:

• Foreigners applying for a visa as a visitor to the United States without a direct tie to the country
• Foreigners applying through the diversity visa program
• Foreigners who have no ties to the United States and therefore are not protected by the Constitution

Who is not affected:

• Foreigners who have been accepted to a U.S. university
• Foreigners who have been claimed by a close relative who is a U.S. citizen. According to a recent update posted on the State Department website, “a close familial relationship is defined as a parent (including parent-in-law), spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sibling, whether whole or half, and including step relationships. ‘Close family’ does not include grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, fiancé(e)s, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and any other ‘extended’ family members.”
• Foreigners who are applying for entry through a work visa program

By Joel Pfeffer, Pittsburgh Immigration Lawyer and Chair of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott’s Immigration Group