US visa applicants from countries included in Trump’s travel ban list can now reapply according to the US Department of State. These are 13, mostly Muslim and African nations. President Joe Biden on his first day as president overturned Trump’s travel ban, otherwise known as the “Muslim Ban”. Biden said that it was a “stain on our national conscience”. He gave the State Department 45 days to formulate a plan to allow affected countries to have their US visa applications reconsidered.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price announced that immigrant visa applications that received a final refusal from January 20, 2020, and after because of Trump’s travel ban, can “seek re-adjudication without submitting their application forms or paying any additional fees”. He also added that individuals who were denied before January 20, 2020, can be reconsidered. However, these individuals will have to submit a new application and pay the necessary fees.
Those applicants selected in the diversity visa lottery during Trump’s administration are still barred to have their US visa if they haven’t gotten them already according to Price.
Since Trump issued a travel ban in December 2017, 41,000 individuals were denied entry into the US. These applicants were denied entry to the US because of their country of origin. This tainted the United State’s reputation as a welcoming country to different individuals.
The ban also separated family members apart. New York Times covered the story of Shaima Swileh who was barred to enter the US for more than a year and a half to see her dying son.
The ban had different versions with countries added and dropped from the list. After Trump’s presidency, countries include Venezuela, Yemen, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Krygyzstan, Myanmar, and Nigeria. Several lawsuits challenged Trump’s travel ban on different occasions.
The Biden administration has been working to reverse Trump’s immigration approach. Since Biden took office, ICE arrests dropped by 60% as well as deportations.
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