Background
On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a new Executive Order 13780 entitled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into The United States. This revokes Executive Order 13769, and will take effect on March 16, 2017.
On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, entitled Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States by Foreign Nationals. Among the actions, under Section 3(c) of that Executive Order, entry into the United States of "immigrants and nonimmigrants" from at least 7 countries has been suspended for 90 days from the date the Executive Order was signed.
Legal Advice
ISS advisors are always available to help navigate this information and support our international students. However, it is recommended that students get advice from an experienced immigration lawyer if they have questions about whether their nationality, country of birth, country of residence, or travel history would make them subject to the Executive Order.
UPDATES: Executive Orders Concerning Immigration and Travel
Updated: June 26, 2018
Information below represents a general timeline of statements and actions by various government agencies and courts related to Executive Orders referenced in the left-hand column. It does not represent the details of the Executive Orders and any related litigation, nor does it represent legal interpretations or advice. NOTE: There are several cases being litigated related to Executive Order 13780. For a complete review, you can to the NAFSA website.
| 06/26/2018 - In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Proclamation 9645 as related to EO 13780, allowing what has been known as "Travel Ban 3.0" to remain in effect. Read the Court's full opinion. |
| 04/10/2018 - President Trump, through Proclamation, has removed Chad from the list of countries subject to Proclamation 9645 pursuant to section 2(e) of EO 13780, effective April 13, 2018. |
| 12/04/2017 - US Supreme Court rules that President Trump's full Proclamation 9645 on immigration may be go into effect even as lower courts are still presiding over cases determining its lawfulness. |
| 10/18/2017 - In the US District Court of Maryland, Judge Theodore Chuang grants preliminary injunction against Trump's Proclamation of 9/24/2017. However, it does allow for the bans of North Korea and Venezuela to remain. |
| 10/17/2017 - In the US District Court of Hawaii, Judge Derrick Watson grants a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Trump's Proclamation of 9/24/2017. |
9/24/2017 - President Trump announces Proclamation on Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats. These are added restrictions to EO 13780. The following is a summary of the proclamation's suspensions of U.S. entry by nationals of select countries coming as immigrants or nonimmigrants. This does not include other restrictions established previously.
Effective Date: (from FAQ) The restrictions and limitations took effect at 3:30 p.m. eastern daylight time on September 24, 2017, for foreign nationals who were subject to the suspension of entry under section 2 of E.O. 13780, and who lack a credible claim of a bonda fide relationship with a person or entity of the United States. The restrictions and limitations take effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on October 18, 2017, for all other foreign nationals subject to the suspension of entry under section 2 of E.O. 13780, and for nationals of Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela. US Department of State Alert with Table of Restrictions by Country President Donald J. Trump Strengthens Security Standards For Traveling to America (Whitehouse News Release) President Donald J. Trump Announces Enhanced National Security Measures (Whitehouse News Release) |
| June 29 - U.S. Department of State provides Background Briefing on the Implementation of Executive Order 13780 Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. |
| June 29 - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Announces Implementation of Travel Restriction Provisions. Also in relation to the recent Supreme Court ruling on June 26, it has updated its FAQ on EO 13780. |
| June 26 - The U.S. Supreme Court partially granted the government's request to stay the preliminary injunctions issued by lower courts. The decision, however, contains an important exception that upholds the injunction for individuals "who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States." Most students and scholars, therefore, should continue to be exempt from the 90-day bar. |
| June 12 - The March 29 District Court decision was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the portion of the Hawai'i District Court's preliminary injunction that blocks the Section 2(c) 90-day travel ban, but ruled that the District Court erred in blocking all of Section 2. |
| May 25 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (Richmond, VA) upholds the nationwide injunction of EO13780. |
| March 29 - The U.S. District Court in Hawaii converted its March 15 TRO to a preliminary injunction, preventing the government from enforcing Section 2(c) 90-day travel bar and the Section 6 120-day refugee admissions bar for the duration of litigation in Hawaii. |
| March 24 - In a case filed in the U.S. District Court of Virginia, the court denied the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order on Executive Order 13780, finding the executive order's entry bars to be within the authority of a president. |
| March 16 - A case was filed in the U.S. Court of the Southern District of Michigan, suing the Trump Administration voer EO 13780. |
| March 16 - A U.S. District Court in Maryland granted a nationwide preliminary injunction of EO 13780, preventing the government from enforcing Section 2(c) 90-day entry bar. |
| March 15 - A U.S. District Court, presiding over the State of Hawaii's lawsuit in opposition to Executive Order 13780, granted a nationwide Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing the government from enforcing Section 2(c) 90-day travel bar and the Section 6 120-day refugee admissions bar. |
| March 13 - Department of State updated its alert entitled Executive Order on Visas, which now includes additional paragraphs and an FAQ. Additionally, a separate page with similar information, entitled Important Announcement for immigrant visa applicants, was created and includes a different FAQ. This page is linked from several pages including the Executive Order on Visas page. |
| March 6 - Alert released by Department of State entitled Executive Order on Visas:
On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a new Executive Order on Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States which directs us to review current screening procedures, while protecting national security – our top priority when issuing visas. The Executive Order has an effective date of March 16, 2017. We are working closely with the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to review the Executive Order to ensure that we implement it in accordance with its terms, in an orderly fashion, consistent with any applicable court orders, and without compromising national security. The Executive Order becomes effective March 16, 2017, allowing ten days for making operational adjustments and implementing its provisions. We will keep the public informed about changes affecting travelers to the United States. The Executive Order states that no visa issued before its effective date will be revoked pursuant to this order. At this time, U.S. embassies and consulates will continue to process visa applications while applying all appropriate screening measures, as they have been. |
| March 6 - President Trump signed new Executive Order 13780 entitled Protecting The Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. This revokes the previous Executive Order 13769, but still affects nationals of six of seven countries on the original order. Iraq was removed from the list. This order is to take effect on March 16, 2017.
Full text of Executive Order 13780 DHS Fact Sheet: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry To The United States DHS Q&A: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry To The United States Statement by Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly on President's Executive Order Signed Today Statement by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on President's Executive Order Signed Today |
| February 9 - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington, denied the government's emergency motion for a stay on the District Court's temporary restraining order preventing the government from enforcing section 3(c) and sections 5(a), 5(b), 5(c) and 5(e) of Executive Order 13769. |
| February 4 - To comply with the Tempoary Restraining Order (TRO), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement that it was "suspending any and all actions implementing the affected sections of the Executive Order." |
| February 3 – To comply with the TRO, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated its Executive Order FAQs with the following statement:
In accordance with the judge’s ruling, DHS has suspended any and all actions implementing the affected sections of the Executive Order entitled, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” This includes actions to suspend passenger system rules that flag travelers for operational action subject to the Executive Order. DHS personnel will resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure. |
| February 3 – To comply with the TRO, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has temporarily lifted its suspension of visa processing, and reversed its directive that revoked the visas of individuals subject to the Section 3(c) entry ban. |
| February 3 – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle grants a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that temporarily prohibits the Federal government from enforcing Section 3(c) of Executive Order 13769, the provision that established the 90-day ban on entry of “immigrants and nonimmigrants” from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The TRO also prohibits enforcement of Sections 5(a), 5(b), 5(c), and 5(e) of the Executive Order, which established the 120-day suspension of admission of refugees to the United States. |
| February 3 - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement to clarify the classes of aliens affected by the 90-day temporary pause on travel. |
| February 3 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released a statement that says it “continues to adjudicate applications and petitions filed for or on behalf of individuals in the United States regardless of their country of origin, and applications and petitions of lawful permanent residents outside the U.S. USCIS also continues to adjudicate applications and petitions for individuals outside the U.S. whose approval does not directly confer travel authorization. Applications to adjust status also continue to be adjudicated, according to existing policies and procedures, for applicants who are nationals of countries designated in” Executive Order 13769. |
| January 31 - CBP posted a statement on Executive Order 13769 and a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). |
| January 29 – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly determined that permitting the entry of lawful permanent residents is “in the national interest.” |
| January 29 – DHS stated that it has immediately started to comply with court orders from the ACLU lawsuit. |
| January 28 – Federal judge grants the request by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for a nationwide temporary injunction that will block the deportation of people stranded in U.S. airports. |
| January 27 – The U.S. Department of State provisionally revoked immigrant and nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of the 7 countries identified through section 3(c) of Executive Order 13769. Below is a copy of the alert originally posted on DOS website:
Urgent Notice. Per the Executive Order on Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals signed on January 27, 2017, visa issuance to nationals of the countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been suspended effective immediately until further notification. If you are a citizen of one of these countries, please do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time. If you already have an appointment scheduled, please DO NOT ATTEND. You will not be permitted entry to the Embassy/Consulate. We will announce any other changes affecting travelers to the United States as soon as that information is available. |
January 27, 2017 – President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, entitled Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States by Foreign Nationals. Among the actions, under Section 3(c) of that Executive Order, entry into the United States of “immigrants and nonimmigrants” from at least 7 countries has been suspended for 90 days from the date the Executive Order was signed. The affected countries are:
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Related
Executive Order 13767: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
Executive Order 13768: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
Acronyms
ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
CBP: Customs and Border Protection
DHS: Department of Homeland Security
DOS: Department of State
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
TRO: Temporary Restraining Order
USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service