The Trump Administration's Executive Order comes partially back into force

Updated: Jul 02, 2017  | Tags: USA Visa, USA Immigration

The Trump Administration's Executive Order (EO) number 13780 has been one of the most controversial items of USA visa news this year. It has been subject to many challenges and appeals, and the latest development occurred on June 29th, 2017. On this date, the US Supreme Court stated that the Executive Order should be upheld in a limited fashion.

How has the Executive Order been put in place since June 29th?

EO 13780 stated that nationals from six Muslim majority countries (namely, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Libya) were prohibited from entering the US. A previous Executive Order, EO 13769, included a seventh country on the list, Iraq, though Iraq has since been removed from the list of prohibited countries. The Trump Administration stated that the purpose of these Executive Orders was to prevent the entry of 'foreign terrorists' into the US, but critics of the EOs argue (citing the President's own tweets) that they are nothing more than an Islamophobic 'Muslim ban'. EO 13780 came into force at 8pm on June 29th.

On June 29th, after spending three days hearing appeals, the Supreme Court decided that EO 13780 would come back into effect. It applied to everyone who is a national of the six listed countries. However, unlike EO 13769, EO 13780 has been limited because it does not apply to anyone who holds dual nationality with one of the six countries. Thus, a dual UK and Somali national who had been able to enter the USA visa free under the ESTA Visa Waiver scheme prior to this EO will still be able to enter the US under Executive Order 13780. Under 13769, they would not have been able to enter the country, despite being able use the ESTA visa waiver scheme prior to the Trump Administration coming in to power. The Supreme Court stipulated that there would be another significant limitation to this EO. That is that it will not apply to any nationals of the six countries who can demonstrate that they have a 'bona fide relationship' with a US citizen or national. One example of this would be being a Sudanese national who is married to a US national wishing to enter the US. As of June 20th, this Sudanese national would still be able to receive a USA visa and be granted entry into the country. This aspect of this latest ESTA news item will provide a certain - though very limited - amount of comfort to the huge numbers of travellers applying for a USA visa this year. 

What will happen to travellers who have already been granted a visa by the USA immigration authorities?

The USA immigration authorities began implementing EO 13780 in its limited form from June 29th onward. Nevertheless, travellers who had been granted visas on June 29th were reassured that their visas would still be valid. The same applies to travellers whose visas were granted any time after January 27th 2017. This means that, for instance, a foreign national in the US who is a national of one of the 6 countries holds a valid multiple entry visa issued on or prior to June 29th will be able to travel to another country and return to the US without a problem. This item of USA immigration news will have an effect, however, if this traveller's visa will expire when they are outside the US. If the visa expires whilst they are abroad, they will most probably not be able to re-enter the US unless they have a bona fide relationship with a US national or citizen (e.g. an employment relationship or a marriage relationship).

What will happen to refugees and asylees currently outside the US?

Refugees and asylees who have been previously granted the right to enter the US, but who are currently outside the country, will be able to return to the USA despite the Executive Order. This is because returning refugees and asylees have been explicitly exempted from EO 13780.

Are there any other exemptions from EO 13780?

The other main group of travellers who may be exempted from this Executive Order are patients who are in need of urgent medical care in the USA. No specific details have been released regarding this aspect of USA visa news, but it is likely that the Department of Homeland Security will make decisions on a case by case basis.

How long will the executive order last?

Opponents of EO 13780 are already putting their legal challenges together in the hope of defeating it. It is likely, then, that there will be new items of USA immigration news and ESTA news relating to this Executive Order in the near future.