Officials are deciding
Partially revived travel ban policies will start Thursday
which residents of six mostly Muslim nations can to travel to the United States under a scaled-back travel ban.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Wednesday set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim nations and all refugees that require a “close” family or business tie to the United States.
The move came after the Supreme Court partially restored President Donald Trump's executive order that was widely criticized as a ban on Muslims.
Visas that have already been approved will not be revoked, but instructions issued by the State Department say that new applicants from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the United States to be eligible.
Grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothersin-laws and sisters-in-law, fiancees or other extended family members are not considered to be close relationships, according to the guidelines that were issued in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates late Wednesday. The new rules take effect Thursday, according to the cable, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
On Monday, the Supreme Court partially lifted lower court injunctions against Trump’s executive order that had temporarily banned visas for citizens of the six countries. The justices' ruling exempted applicants from the ban if they could prove a “bona fide relationship” with a U.S. person or entity, but the court offered only broad guidelines — suggesting they would include a relative, job offer or invitation to lecture in the U.S. — as to how that should be defined.
As far as business or professional links are concerned, the State Department said a legitimate relationship must be “formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course rather than for the purpose of evading” the ban.
Journalists, students, workers or lecturers who have valid invitations or employment contracts in the U.S. would be exempt from the ban. The exemption does not apply to those who seek a relationship with a U.S. business or educational institution purely for the purpose of avoiding the rules, the cable said.
A hotel reservation or car rental contract, even if it was prepaid, would also not count, it said.
Trump’s initial travel ban in January led to chaos at airports around the world, but because the guidelines exempt previously issued visas, similar problems are not expected.
After a judge blocked the original ban, Trump issued a scaled-down order and the court's action Monday further reduced the number of people who would be covered by it. Also, while the initial order took effect immediately, adding to the confusion, this one was delayed 72 hours after the court's ruling.
Would-be immigrants from the six counties who won a coveted visa in the government's diversity lottery — a program that randomly awards 50,000 green cards annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. tates — will have to prove they have a “bona fide relationship” within the U.S. or are eligible for another waiver or face being banned for at least 90 days. That hurdle may be a difficult one for immigrants to overcome, as many visa lottery winners don’t have relatives in the U.S. or jobs in advance of arriving in the country.