![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/map-trump-travel-ban.jpg.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCritics said they are watching closely to see how the guidelines are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Initial reports suggest that the government may try to unilaterally expand the scope of the ban\u00a0\u2014\u00a0for example, by arbitrarily refusing to treat certain categories of familial relationships as ‘bona fide.’ These reports are deeply concerning. We are watching for official word,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u2014 suggesting they would include a relative, job offer or invitation to lecture in the U.S. \u2014 as to how that should be defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior officials from the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security had labored since the decision to clarify the ruling and Wednesday’s instructions were the result. The new guidance will remain in place until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling on the matter. Arguments before the justices will not be held until at least October, so the interim rules will remain in place at least until the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered the refugee ban and a travel ban affecting the six countries, plus Iraq. He said it was needed to protect the U.S. from terrorists, but opponents said it was unfairly harsh and was intended to meet his campaign promise to keep Muslims out of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a federal judge struck down the bans, Trump signed a revised order intended to overcome legal hurdles. That was also struck down by lower courts, but the Supreme Court’s action Monday partially reinstated it. Sudanese activist Tayeb Ibrahim, who had worked to expose Sudanese abuses in the volatile South Kordofan province and hopes to see family living in the U.S. state of Iowa, watches television with his son Mohammed, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Dozens of Sudanese activists living in Egypt as refugees, many of whom fled fundamentalist Islamic militias and were close to approval for resettlement in the United States, now face legal limbo in Egypt after the Supreme Court partially reinstated President Donald Trump’s travel ban. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo Credit: Amr Nabil\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The initial travel ban led to chaos at airports around the world, but because the guidelines exempt previously issued visas, similar problems are not expected. \u00a0After 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new rules, would-be immigrants from the six countries who won a coveted visa in the government’s diversity lottery \u2014 a program that randomly awards 50,000 green cards annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States \u2014 will also have to prove they have a “bona fide relationship” with in 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 those 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally, winners in the diversity lottery only need prove they were born in an eligible county and have completed high school or have at least two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two other years of training or experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alicia A. Caldwell contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Trump administration on 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[499],"class_list":["post-61869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2DMGYTYEI5HEHNG2WBVX5F25G4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/06\/29\/us-sets-new-visa-rules-for-6-mainly-muslim-nations-refugees\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ap17179570709331.jpg.jpg\")
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