TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: TRUMP BANS TRAVEL FROM 43 COUNTRIES

Trump’s new travel restrictions have suddenly become the talk of the town—this time with a plan that jumbles things up a bit. In a move that feels both hasty and expansive, the President, who once blocked six nations, now seems to be eyeing 43 countries overall.

Some insiders claim that 11 nations will be totally off-limits for entry into the United States; another 10 will face heavy visa hurdles, while a further 22 get a chance to fix their visa issues over time. In most cases, these figures aren’t set in stone—the draft, reportedly drawn up by the State Department a few weeks back, might undergo further tweaks before arriving officially at the White House. Embassy staff and security experts have had a look at this early version, and, not surprisingly, a few of the nations already hit under previous travel restrictions are back in the mix.

Red List

Right after stepping into power, Trump quickly signed an order asking the State Department to flag those countries that don’t provide enough clear info—basically, places that might need to be banned outright. Generally speaking, he wanted the list finalized in 60 days, and sources say it’s almost done. Among the group are Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Bhutan—countries that will immediately see the full force of the ban.

Orange List

Then there’s a catchier, if not trickier, category; the orange list isn’t about an outright ban but about significantly clamping down on visa issuance. The idea is that citizens from places like Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan will not have their visas completely revoked. Tourist visas, in particular, might be held up—even though wealthy business travelers might still get a waiver. This mix of strictness with a loophole here and there makes the whole thing even murkier than it first appears.

Yellow List

Finally, the yellow list takes a somewhat softer tone with what have been called “conditional visas.” Essentially, these countries will get 60 days to tidy up their visa processes before potentially being bumped into a stricter category. The list includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe. If these countries manage to clear up their deficiencies within that period, they might be moved neatly into another list—a change that, predictably, would ease travel restrictions on their citizens.