To travel to the United States your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the United States unless exempt by country-specific agreements. But Trump’s administration is planning to expand its travel restrictions three years after the initial travel ban that sparked controversy.
In the group of nations subjected to travel restrictions, the administration will be adding seven other countries namely Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. These restrictions will be placed on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas and plans are underway to roll them on Monday. In its 2018 fiscal year, the US established that 24% of Eritreans on business or visitor visas overstayed their permits, Nigerians 15% and 12% of Sudanese.
Also, the visa lottery program, which awards green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the U.S. could see some countries banned from participating as President Trump has called for an end to that program, saying it lets undesirable people into the US and has proposed restructuring the existing visa system towards skilled workers.
Its initial list had a majority Muslim population that blocked travelers and immigrants from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea, and political officials from Venezuela, with data revealing that several of these countries had relatively higher rates of their citizens overstaying visas.
The administration has said its policy restricting travel is necessary to prevent potential acts of terrorism, as countries on the list don’t adequately vet their travelers to the U.S.
