Federal Court Halts Trump Travel Ban

February 5, 2017

On Friday night, Judge James Robart (an appointee of President George W. Bush) put a temporary block on the travel ban that had been enacted by President Trump’s Executive Order on January 27th. Unlike other recent rulings striking at portions of the travel ban, Judge Robart’s order put a hold on the entire thing. That means, effective Friday night (and on a temporary basis):

• There is no entry ban on travelers from any of the seven affected countries – Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Libya, Yemen
• There is no ban on refugee entries
• All visas that had been rendered cancelled by the Executive Order are again considered valid, unless they had been stamped as cancelled
  • If your visa was physically marked as cancelled due to the travel ban, and you now wish to enter the U.S. under the terms of your previously-valid visa, you will need to return to a U.S. Consulate or Embassy to have the visa reissued.
• U.S Embassies and Consulates should resume issuing visas to previously-affected travelers
• Legal Permanent Residents (green card holders) should no longer be subject to additional scrutiny upon re-entry to the U.S.

It is important to note that these reversals are all temporary. The Trump administration immediately set about appealing the ruling, and while their request for an emergency stay of the judge’s order was denied by a federal appeals court Sunday morning, the appeals process will resume Monday, meaning that the travel ban could still be reinstated as early as next week.

So despite this ruling, if you are affected by the travel ban and are currently present in the United States, you should not leave. If you are outside of the United States and had been hoping to enter the U.S., please contact an immigration attorney immediately.

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TAGS: executive order, Travel Ban, Trump