In recent months, steadily increasing fees and restrictions, as well as the decreasing reliability of visa application procedures, have deterred international students and workers from traveling to the United States. The International Trade Administration has reported a 19.1% decline in arrivals of F-1 visa holders last August compared to the same time last year.
On December 3, the U.S. Department of State issued a directive to its staff instructing them to deny the visa application of any traveler whose work history (or the work history of any family traveling with them) includes “activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others,” claiming that these qualify as “censorship.” The directive focuses on H-1B visa applicants, but affects applicants for all types of visa to the United States.
Tourists may also be subject to stricter travel restrictions. On December 10, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a proposal to require tourists to provide five (5) years of their social media history, a photo of themselves (“selfie”), and additional “high value data fields” such as biometric information (including DNA); business, personal, and family members’ telephone numbers used in the past five (5) years; business, personal, and family members’ email addresses used in the past ten (10) years; and family members’ dates/places of birth and residencies.
Please see the Federal Register here to read the full proposal. At the time of this writing, it is not final and there is room for revisions before any legal policy may be enacted; the public comment period for this proposal will be open until February 9, 2026.
In addition, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), under a previously undisclosed new policy, will be providing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with the names and data of all travelers passing through U.S. airports in hopes of finding passengers with deportation orders. Historically, ICE has not interfered to this degree in domestic travel, and immigrant advocacy groups have objected to the increased chances of unjust, rushed detainments and deportations without the chance of appeal that this policy creates.
On December 16, the federal government announced that the existing ban on travel to the United States will be expanded to affect many more countries. Now subject to a total ban on receiving immigrant and non-immigrant visas are nationals of:
● Burkina Faso
● Laos
● Mali
● Niger
● Sierra Leone
● South Sudan
● Syria
The total ban also applies to all travelers using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Now subject to a ban on all immigrant visas and all tourist, student, and exchange visitor visas (B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas) are nationals of:
● Angola
● Antigua and Barbuda
● Benin
● Cote d’Ivoire
● Dominica
● Gabon
● The Gambia
● Malawi
● Mauritania
● Nigeria
● Senegal
● Tanzania
● Tonga
● Zambia
● Zimbabwe
The suspension on issuing of immigrant visas to nationals of Turkmenistan remains in place, but the suspension on nonimmigrant visas has been lifted.
These changes go into effect as of January 1, 2026. For a full breakdown of which countries have been affected in which ways by this year’s federal travel bans, see here.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us anytime at info@gravityintprog.com. Stay safe and healthy!
