On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration added six countries to the travel ban: Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. The newly imposed restrictions include suspension of entry on Diversity Visas for nationals of Sudan and Tanzania. Nationals of the other four countries – Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, and Nigeria – are subject to travel restrictions on immigrant visas. The Proclamation is set to take effect on February 21, 2020, growing the current travel ban list to thirteen countries.
On January 31, 2020, Secretary Alex M. Azar II of the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public-health emergency in the United States due to the outbreak of a novel Coronavirus. The Trump administration further announced that foreign nationals seeking entry into the U.S, other than immediate family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the previous 14 days will be denied admission. This travel suspension applies to foreign nationals seeking entry on immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, with some exceptions. The ban went into effect on February 2, 2020.
Any U.S. citizen who has traveled to Hubei Province in the previous 14 days will be subject to 14 days of mandatory quarantine. The Department of State has issued a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” Advisory for China, advising that most air carriers have reduced or suspended routes to and from China.
On January 24, 2020, the Department of State imposed travel restrictions for “birth tourism”, planning to deny visitor visas to pregnant women seeking entry to give birth in the United States in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child. Under the new regulation, U.S. consular officers abroad will deny applications for B nonimmigrant visas if the consular officer finds that the foreign national is traveling to the U.S. for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth on U.S. soil.
Under the “primary purpose” test, the consular officer will consider all of the visa applicant’s intended activates in the U.S. to determine eligibility for a visitor visa. Entering the U.S. for purposes of medical treatment is permissible activity in the B visa classification, subject to certain restrictions, including the latest travel restriction on pregnant women imposed by the Trump administration. As of now, the birth tourism travel restriction does not apply to any other nonimmigrant or immigrant visa classifications.
