The United States of America has slammed visa ban or restriction on 39 countries. An earlier visa restriction proclamation signed by the U.S. President Donald Trump named 19 countries while a new proclamation issued on 16th December 2025 increased the number of affected countries to 39. A similar visa restriction proclamation was issued on 4th June 2025. 

The recent December proclamation puts seven nations on full travel ban: Laos, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. It could be recalled that Laos and Sierra Leone had been on partial restrictions.

According to the new proclamation, 15 countries add to the list of nations facing partial visa restriction. They are Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The White House stated that the affected nations displayed “severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing.”

CNN reported that the proclamation also affects persons holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, and it lifts a ban on non-immigrant visas for citizens of Turkmenistan, “while still maintaining suspended entry for Turkmen nationals.”

The proclamation however makes exceptions for what it describes as “lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories and individuals whose entry serves US national interests.”

Of the 39 countries, some are on full ban while some are on partial restriction.

Those fully banned are: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen

Holders of travel documents issued by the Palestinian authority are also fully banned.

Countries partially restricted are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Mr Trump campaigned on tough immigration policies and actions in all presidential elections he has contested in.