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Important Information on International Travel Under the New Administration for Employers and Foreign Nationals

On his first day in office, President Trump signed a number of executive orders pertaining to immigration and national security. Though the executive orders do not impose immediate entry bans, they set forth the administration’s plans for future actions that could affect international travel in the coming weeks and months. Many of the principles in the orders will result in immediate change in the level of scrutiny that foreign nationals will undergo at consulates and ports of entry and in immigration benefits adjudications.

Below we have common questions and answers regarding changes in international travel and reentry to the United States.

Has the U.S. government imposed any new bans on entry to the United States?

As of January 24, the U.S. government has not imposed travel bans similar to those in effect during the first Trump Administration, though the new administration has taken steps to restrict certain types of humanitarian entries to the United States, in particular at the U.S. southern border.

Nevertheless, travel restrictions are anticipated in the very near future. President Trump has ordered the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to explore the issue and make recommendations on potential entry restrictions and limits on admissibility to the United States within 60 days of his executive orders, or by March 21, 2025. Therefore, it is critical for foreign nationals to pay close attention to updates and recommendations if and when broad-based travel restrictions are imposed.

Even though travel bans are not in effect currently, the new administration’s intensive border and national security focus means that travelers can expect to see tougher scrutiny almost immediately during every phase of their immigration process.

What kinds of travel bans could be imposed in the future?

Though the government has not announced its specific plans, advisors to the Administration have suggested that future travel restrictions might focus on nationals of countries deemed to pose heightened security risks, specific classes of nonimmigrants who may be deemed to have a negative impact on the U.S. labor market, travelers who have been present in regions where there are public health concerns, and travelers from countries that the U.S. government deems to have refused to cooperate with deportation and repatriation of their nationals, among other groups.

Between 2017 and early 2021, entry restrictions were imposed on nationals of Chad, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were public health entry restrictions, as well as a temporary ban on issuance of H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visas due to the pandemic-related economic downturn. Entry restrictions like these could take shape as the new administration defines its specific policies.

I have a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa and need to travel internationally for business in the next few months. Is travel advisable in the current environment?

All foreign nationals should plan their travel carefully and prepare for the possibility of sudden change. If you are a national of a country that was subject to entry restrictions in the past, you may want to be particularly cautious about international travel in the coming months, if and when the government reimposes travel bans.

If you are not a national of a previously banned country and you possess a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa and other necessary travel documents, you face fewer risks when traveling internationally, but you should expect more intensive screening at U.S. ports of inspection when you return from abroad. Border officials could ask you more searching questions about your travel, your background, your views, and your activities abroad and in the United States, among other issues. As always, it’s important to be patient and answer questions to the best of your ability.

I am planning to travel in the coming months and will need to apply for a new visa while I am abroad. What should I expect?

If you will need a new visa to reenter the United States, you should carefully consider the risks and benefits of travel before you finalize your plans.

As discussed above, entry bans are possible in the coming weeks and months, which could delay reentry for some individuals. In addition, the visa application process is likely to become lengthier almost immediately in the new administration. You may be required to appear for an in-person interview at the consulate, even if you have received a waiver of the interview requirement in the past. You may experience long waits to secure a visa appointment. You may also be subject to longer security checks and deeper questioning by consular officers. If you are flagged for more intensive background checks, you could be delayed outside the United States for weeks or months while your case is resolved.

What does the new executive order on gender mean for travelers who are transgender or nonbinary, including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals? What about U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders who currently hold documents with an “X” identifier or a gender identity other than the one they were assigned at birth?

In an executive order signed on January 20, the new administration has ordered federal agencies to recognize only male and female gender identities as “biological realities” and to recognize only the sex that an individual was assigned at birth. With respect to travel documents, the order directs federal agencies to ensure that U.S. passports, visas, and other documents “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.” Federal agencies were directed to implement the executive order within 120 days, or by May 20, 2025.

Though the executive order is expected to be challenged in court, the State Department has already taken steps to eliminate third-gender options for U.S. passports, and visas. USCIS is expected to eliminate a third gender option for naturalization and green card applications. Processing of pending State Department applications that request a third gender identifier are currently being suspended on the basis of the executive order, and applicants for USCIS benefits should expect the same treatment of their pending applications. The government is also imposing the same limits on the ability to obtain new federal documents after gender reassignment. These options had been made available in the previous administration.

In terms of individuals who currently hold U.S. travel documents with an X identifier or issued with a gender marker different from that assigned at birth, the executive order does not purport to invalidate these documents, and they should remain valid for travel and reentry. The State Department is reportedly planning to issue instructions concerning these documents to its staff; current media reports indicate that U.S. passports already issued with the X identifier remain valid. In the meantime, travelers holding these documents should anticipate questions at ports of entry to the United States and at U.S. consulates from officers who may be uncertain about how to treat the documents in light of the order, whether the traveler is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or nonimmigrant. As always, it’s important to be patient and answer questions to the best of your ability.

What kinds of security screening measures can international travelers expect in the new administration?

On January 20, President Trump signed a new Executive Order on Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. The order announces the government’s intention to screen foreign nationals more intensively to protect the United States from national security threats, which includes individuals who espouse ideologies deemed threatening to the United States or “hostile attitudes toward [U.S.] citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” Though it is not clear how the government will assess such threats, the order indicates that international travelers could face far broader background checks and scrutiny than in the past.

The order requires applicants for visas, admission, or other immigration benefits to be vetted and screened “to the maximum degree possible.” The order itself does not identify any specific screening or vetting practices that must be implemented. Rather, under the order, the U.S. State Department is required to work with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, and the Director of National Intelligence, to establish enhanced security screening and vetting standards and procedures that are consistent with the enhanced vetting program that was ordered in the first Trump Administration.

Nevertheless, the new administration’s intensive focus on immigration and national security means that travelers should expect heightened scrutiny to take effect almost immediately at U.S. consulates and ports of entry, and at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, through more intensive questioning, background and security checks, document requirements, and requests for additional evidence.

Who will be subject to the new enhanced screening and vetting measures?

The enhanced screening and vetting procedures will apply to foreign nationals outside the U.S. who are applying for U.S. visas or entry into the United States. In addition, the enhanced measures will apply to foreign nationals already in the United States who are seeking other immigration benefits, such as extensions or changes of nonimmigrant status, employment authorization, or U.S. permanent residence.

Will the new enhanced screening and vetting procedures apply only to certain applicants?

All applicants for visas, admission, or other immigration benefits are expected to undergo enhanced screening and vetting, but the order does call for a particular focus on enhanced screening of individuals coming from countries or regions with identified security risks. In the coming weeks, government agencies are expected to make recommendations on the countries, regions, and/or classes of applicants that may face particularly elevated levels of screening.

What kinds of additional screening and vetting measures can travelers expect?

While the specific measures are not yet known, the order requires implementation of enhanced vetting standards that are consistent with the screening standards that were in effect during President Trump’s first administration, and the new administration is likely to reinstate many of the same types of enhanced screening measures that were implemented during President Trump’s previous term in office, including:

Increased consular scrutiny of visa applicants: Just as occurred early in the first Trump administration, the State Department is likely to order consular officers to increase scrutiny and screening of applicants for U.S. visas. This could include such measures as requiring officers to conduct more intensive interviews, limiting the number of interviews a consular officer conducts each day so that officers can spend more time on each interview, ordering even more intensive scrutiny for certain classes of applicants, and granting greater discretion to consular officers to order additional security checks beyond the standard checks that all applicants undergo.

More mandatory interviews: Currently, most employment-based adjustment of status applicants are not required to undergo an interview prior to approval of their case; however, it is likely that USCIS will reinstate the near universal interview requirement for employer-sponsored permanent residence applicants that was in place during President Trump’s previous term in office. Similarly, as in the first Trump administration, the State Department is likely to significantly limit the use of interview waivers in nonimmigrant visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad.

Expanded requirements for personal information: The immigration agencies may revise current application forms and form instructions to require additional information and/or documentation, as the State Department did in the first Trump Administration, when it began requiring certain visa applicants to provide a full 15 years of residence, employment, and travel history, as well as five years of public social media account information. Foreign nationals could be asked to provide this information not only in visa applications at consulates but in a broader range of applications and petitions for certain immigration benefits at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Expansion of biometrics requirements: Although the Biden Administration phased out the requirement that dependents of temporary work visa applicants and certain other nonimmigrants seeking extensions or changes of status undergo biometrics, the second Trump administration may well reinstate the requirement, and it may also seek to expand the biometrics requirement to all individuals filing immigration benefits applications within and outside the United States, as was proposed toward the end of the first Trump administration.

Are there factors that are likely to result in additional screening or even greater scrutiny?

The Departments of State and Homeland Security are likely to consider multiple factors in assessing whether a particular case may merit even greater scrutiny than the new enhanced vetting procedures call for. Factors could include the applicant’s country of birth; country(ies) of current or past citizenship and residence; travel history; military service; affiliations; involvement in advanced-technology fields; social media use; and appearance in national security or law enforcement databases.

When are the new enhanced screening and vetting procedures expected to begin?

While it may take some time for the full panoply of new screening measures to be established and implemented, foreign nationals applying for visas and other immigration benefits should expect to see more intensive screening almost immediately.

What’s likely to be the impact of these new measures?

As a result of the new enhanced screening and vetting procedures, employers and foreign nationals may need to provide more information and/or documentation in some cases than may have been necessary in the past. Foreign nationals are also more likely to be interviewed and to face close questioning.

In addition, the new heightened screening is likely to result in increased processing times for visa applications, employer-sponsored petitions, applications to extend or change status, permanent residence and naturalization applications, and other immigration benefits. In particular, the closer scrutiny is likely to result in an increase in delays due to security clearances, particularly in connection with visa applications and applications for permanent residence.

Increased scrutiny may also result in possible increased rates of requests for evidence, and could in some cases lead to denials for individuals with criminal, security-related, or other serious issues, with the potential for detention and removal in the most serious cases.

What can employers and foreign nationals do to prepare for these new enhanced screening and vetting procedures?

There are a number of steps that can be taken to prepare for or adapt to this new climate of enhanced screening and vetting, including:

Monitor and keep stakeholders informed of current processing and screening trends and developments, to set appropriate expectations and facilitate planning;

File petitions and applications, and schedule visa appointments, further in advance, to mitigate the impact of possible delays in processing due to enhanced vetting;

Take care to maintain necessary records and documentation containing important information that may be requested by U.S. immigration authorities, including civil status, family, travel, residence, education, employment, and immigration records;

Consult with immigration counsel on cases involving factors that are likely to invite heightened scrutiny;

Take care in completing or reviewing visa and other immigration benefits applications prior to filing, to ensure complete accuracy;

Prior to any interview, carefully review the immigration filing being adjudicated, and consult with immigration counsel as appropriate, to ensure adequate preparation for the interview;

Consider having attorney representation at USCIS adjustment of status interviews; (Attorney representation at consular visa interviews abroad is not permitted.)

Make sure that foreign nationals are aware of and fulfill their compliance responsibilities in the United States.

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