The Trump administration is considering issuing swept travel restrictions to citizens of dozens of countries as part of the new ban, according to sources familiar with issues and internal memos seen by Reuters.
The memo shows a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups.
The first groups of ten countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, will be set up for full visa suspensions.
In the second group, five countries, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan, will face partial suspensions affecting tourists, student visas and other immigrant visas, with a few exceptions.
In the third group, a total of 26 countries, including Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, would be considered a partial suspension of issuance of US visas if the government “does not make an effort to address the defect within 60 days,” the memo said.
US officials speaking about terms of anonymity warn that there may be changes to the list and that it has not yet been approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The New York Times first reported on the list of countries.
The move returns to President Donald Trump's first term ban on travelers from seven majority countries, a policy that went through several iterations before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
On January 20, Trump called for an intensified security review of foreigners seeking entry into the United States to detect national security threats.
The order directed several Cabinet members by March 21 to submit a list of countries where travel must be partially or completely suspended due to the very insufficient review and screening information.
Trump's orders are part of the immigrant crackdown that he began at the start of his second term.
He previewed the plan in his October 2023 speech and pledged to limit people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “where else that threatens our safety.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
