The Trump administration is considering imposing extensive travel restrictions on citizens from dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo obtained by Reuters.
The memo identifies 41 countries, divided into three groups. The first group includes 10 countries—such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea—set for a complete visa suspension.
In the second group, five countries—Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, and South Sudan—would face partial visa suspensions affecting tourist, student, and other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.
The third group consists of 26 countries, including Belarus, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan, which would face a potential partial suspension of U.S. visa issuance unless their governments address deficiencies within 60 days, according to the memo.
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, warned that the list could change and noted that it has yet to be approved by the administration, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The New York Times was the first to report on the list.
This move echoes President Donald Trump’s first term travel ban on citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several revisions before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Trump signed an executive order on January 20, mandating intensified security vetting for foreign nationals seeking entry into the U.S. to identify national security threats.
The order instructed various cabinet members to submit a list of countries by March 21, recommending partial or full travel suspensions due to inadequate “vetting and screening information.”
This directive is part of the immigration crackdown that Trump initiated at the beginning of his second term, which he previewed in an October 2023 speech, where he promised to restrict travel from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and other areas deemed security threats.
The State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.