WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Most U.S. visa applicants who have been denied because of former President Donald Trump’s travel ban in 13 Muslim and African majority countries can seek new decisions or submit new applications, the State Department said on Monday.
President Joe Biden overthrew Trump’s so-called Muslim ban on January 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 before January 20, 2020, must submit new applications and pay a new application fee. Those who were denied on or after January 20, 2020, can seek reconsideration without resubmitting their orders and do not have to pay additional fees, said Price.
Applicants selected in the diversity visa lottery before the current fiscal year are prevented by US law from receiving visas, if they have not yet received them, he said. The diversity lottery aims to accept immigrants from countries that normally do not receive many visas.
Since December 2017, after a revised version of the original travel ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, about 40,000 people have been barred from entering the United States due to the ban, according to State Department data.
During the Trump administration, some countries were added and others removed from the list. At the end of Trump’s presidency, he was made up of Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Christopher Cushing)