The US State Department has said most US visa applicants, who were denied because of former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on 13 Muslim-majority and some African countries, can seek new decisions or submit new applications.
40,000 U.S. visa applicants were barred from entering the United States during the tenure of former President Donald Trump’s travel ban after a revised version of the original travel ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
However, President Joe Biden overturned Trump’s so-called Muslim ban on Jan. 20, his first day in office, calling it “a stain on our national conscience” in his proclamation.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said applicants who were refused visas prior to Jan. 20, 2020, must submit new applications and pay a new application fee. Those who were denied on or after Jan. 20, 2020, may seek reconsideration without re-submitting their applications and do not have to pay additional fees, Price said.
Applicants selected in the diversity visa lottery prior to the current fiscal year are barred by U.S. law from being issued visas if they have not gotten them already, he added. The diversity lottery aims to accept immigrants from countries that are not normally awarded many visas.
Recall that Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen were barred from obtaining visas during the Trump administration.
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