U.S. lifts travel restrictions on Chad

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Chad would be removed from the list of countries whose nationals face travel restrictions under the current version of his travel ban. The State Department issued a statement saying Chad “has made significant strides and now meets the baseline criteria” to be removed from the list. The restrictions will be lifted Friday.

The travel ban has been enforced since Dec. 8, following the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the administration to enforce the ban while challenges to its legality play out in the courts. The Court will hear arguments on the merits of the challenges April 25. A ruling is expected no later than June.

The latest version of Trump’s travel ban was issued in September after two earlier versions were met with resistance in the courts. With Chad’s removal, the current ban applies to nationals of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. Exact restrictions are specific to each country, and the ban has not dramatically expanded the number of employees subject to travel restrictions for most companies.

The ban on Chad only related to travel on immigrant visas as well as nonimmigrant visas in the B-1 and B-2 classifications. In fiscal year 2017 Chad nationals only received 24 immigrant and 932 B visas, so the ban only affected a small number of people.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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