US Travel Ban Expands To 39 Countries As Donald Trump Tightens Border Rules — Check Full List

The Trump administration is tightening the US border rules with a fresh expansion of travel restrictions. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation widening entry curbs to include 20 additional countries, weeks after he signalled tougher action following the arrest of an Afghan national accused in the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, citizens of these countries will face new restrictions that affect most forms of travel to the United States. The measures also impact relatives of US citizens and international students. Immigration applications from Afghan nationals will face an indefinite halt, with the administration citing national security and public safety concerns.

With the latest move, the number of countries facing US travel restrictions has increased from 19 to 39. The new proclamation brings in a mix of full and partial entry bans.

The Proclamation mandates full entry restrictions on nationals from 12 countries originally listed under Proclamation 10949, citing long-standing gaps in screening, vetting, and information-sharing. These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Following a recent security review, five more countries have been added to the full travel ban list. These include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.

Full restrictions have also been extended to individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, while Laos and Sierra Leone have been moved from partial restrictions to full entry bans.

The Proclamation continues partial travel restrictions on nationals from four countries from the original high-risk list. These are Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela. It also extends partial restrictions to 15 additional countries, most of them in Africa. These include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Citing improved cooperation with US authorities, the Proclamation lifts restrictions on non-immigrant visas for Turkmenistan, while maintaining the suspension on immigrant visas for Turkmen nationals.

The policy includes limited exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain categories such as diplomats and athletes, and cases where entry is deemed to serve US national interests.

It also narrows broad family-based immigrant visa exemptions that have shown higher fraud risks, while retaining case-by-case waivers.

Trump first imposed a travel ban on 12 countries, including Afghanistan, in June and renewed his push for tougher restrictions after last month’s shooting, vowing to “permanently pause migration from all third-world countries,” according to The New York Times. The expanded policy applies not only to new applicants but also to spouses, children and parents of US citizens, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders, international students, as well as siblings and adult children of US citizens.

The move comes despite Trump’s earlier pledge to support Syria following talks in November with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Days later, Trump warned of “very serious retaliation” after a suspected Islamic State attack in Syria killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter, calling it a “terrible” incident. According to the NYT report, the White House has cited high visa overstay rates as part of its justification for imposing restrictions on Syria.