The Trump administration has today announced a travel ban that will come into effect from Monday June 9th and will affect nationals of 19 countries.
There are two lists of countries, the first list of 12 countries is as follows:
Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen
Those countries will be banned for all immigrant and non immigrant visa classifications
The second list is countries that are banned for immigrant and some non immigrant categories. However, this means that DV lottery is affected for those countries as well. That list is:
Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela
People from these 19 countries are now banned. The ban does say that people already holding a visa prior to the June 9th effective date are exempt from the ban, but if I were in that situation I would travel before June 9th.
There are some exemptions for some people from the ban. The most important exemptions are:
Existing LPRs (Greencard holders or recently activated)
Dual nationals (where a person can travel on a second passport from a non banned country).
The proclamation is linked HERE
July 1, 2025 at 07:37
Brit Simon Hola,
Una familia de la región SA que puede viajar con el segundo pasaporte no bloqueado ni afectado por el Travel Ban que es de la región de Europa, entiendo que en principio son excepción y podrían visar este segundo pasaporte y entrar Usa…. Pero si los niños menores a diferencia de los padres aún no tienen ese pasaporte en mano, debe estar al llegarles después de un año y medio de espera pero ha fecha de hoy aún no es un hecho. En este caso que podría pasar?
July 1, 2025 at 16:26
Each person needs the second passport to avoid the ban.
July 1, 2025 at 07:23
Hola Simon, deseo se encuentres bien usted y familia.
Somos familia ganadora DV2025 de Cubanos viviendo hace 8 años en España con residencia fiscal en España y el proceso de visa en España.
1- Viajando con el pasaporte Español podremos brincarnos el Travel Ban aunque seamos nacidos en Cuba y elegibles por aplicar como cubanos?
Gracias de antemano!
July 1, 2025 at 16:25
If you have obtained Spanish citizenship and have Spanish passports, then yes you can be exempt from the travel ban.
June 12, 2025 at 00:33
Thanks you. Is it possible for the DV applicant from ban country to postpone the interview and have a second passport of other national and then attend the interview in their first national which is the ban country?
June 13, 2025 at 16:05
Yes, that should be possible.
June 10, 2025 at 09:34
Hi Mr. BritSimon,
I have been selected for the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery this year. My country of chargeability is Somalia. However, I understand that, as of June 4, 2025, there is a full suspension of entry into the United States for Somali nationals—both immigrants and nonimmigrants—based on the recent executive proclamation concerning countries of identified concern.
In addition to my Somali citizenship, I also hold Ethiopian nationality, which is not affected by this suspension.
Will I remain eligible to proceed with the DV process and obtain a visa under my Ethiopian nationality, even though my original chargeability is Somalia?
June 10, 2025 at 10:18
You must have a passport for that second nationality in order to be exempt from the ban.
June 11, 2025 at 02:18
How should I fill out the DS-260 form if I have dual nationality—one from a banned country (my chargeability country for the DV Lottery) and one from an unbanned country (not my chargeability country)? Should I list both nationalities or only mention the unbanned one?
(Note: My ‘chargeability country’ refers to the country I used when applying for the DV Lottery before being selected as a winner.)
June 11, 2025 at 11:20
List both nationalities. You must have a passport for the unbanned country in order to be exempt from the ban.
June 10, 2025 at 07:12
hi Brit, so if u are dual citizen to a country that is not eligible to DV can u still use that passport of the eligible country being that the initial passport u use is now a banned country’s passport
June 10, 2025 at 10:16
You are exempt from the ban if you can travel on a second passport of an unbanned country.
June 8, 2025 at 14:14
Hi Simon
Seem like we are going to have another wasted month with quota filling ,
Any chance Do DoS get aware of these ban before are publicized and maybe they reflected it when preparing VB ?
June 9, 2025 at 22:26
Well we have the new VB now…
June 9, 2025 at 22:33
They don’t care ,after banned people we are next too
June 8, 2025 at 12:31
Hi Simon, hope you well this morning…. Would like your mind on this.
My niece is a selectee for dv lottery 2024 2025.. her case number is 70 plu… Because Nairobi kenyan embassy has issues coz nothing is going on there at all.. my question is , is it possible to transfer her case to another embassy to do her interview there?
June 9, 2025 at 22:26
Yes, but she has to move embassies before she becomes current, and then she will need to be current in order to be scheduled.
June 8, 2025 at 03:11
Hi Brits,
im a 2026 DV winner from Cameroon with case number 18xxx and Im so scared that Trump may sign a second list of ban countries by August.
– Do U forsee that happening and could Cameroon be a potential country likely to be banned?
– Can there be a second DV draw considering that winners from 19 countries won’t be able to enter the USA if issued visas?
– Is there a possibility that my case number could likely be interviewed around October or Number?
– And lastly, I thought the law is not retroactive. So why should winners of ban countries be affected when the decision was passed after they had already worn?
Those are the few questions I had for u.
Do have a nice day.
June 9, 2025 at 22:17
1. How would I know that?
2. Not likely. It isn’t affected by the ban, it is to do with the number of selectees already drawn.
3. Probably later than that.
4. The law wasn’t applied retroactively. You were selected before the ban, but the ban affects cases from June 9th.
June 8, 2025 at 02:21
Hi Sir BritSimon,
Now that Trump has reinstated the travel ban and Somalia is included, I have a question. I’m from Somaliland (northern Somalia). We’re independent but unrecognized internationally. We have our own passport, recognized by a few countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Taiwan. Some DV Lottery winners have successfully used the Somaliland passport before.
The travel ban map even visually excludes Somaliland from the map of Somalia, and the U.S. State Dept. mentions Somaliland civil docs are more reliable than Somalia’s.
If we unlock the DS-260 and change the Somali passport to a Somaliland passport, could that improve our chances?
June 9, 2025 at 22:14
No. The USA has not recognized Somaliland as an independent state. It is considered an autonomous region of Somalia. So, even though document standards are better there, you will still be considered Somali.
June 7, 2025 at 05:53
Hello Brit Simon. Do you plan to launch a class action lawsuit for DV2025 selected affected by this proclamation Like you supported in 2020?
June 9, 2025 at 20:46
I don’t, no.
This is different. The 2020 situation was worth fighting because there was a light at the end of the tunnel (change of administration). This time the ban is more likely to stay (because it is like the Travel Ban 3.0).
Lawsuits like that are ENORMOUSLY expensive – so no one will take that on without a good chance of winning. So – maybe some organization will take this on, but I am not hopeful of a successful outcome.
June 6, 2025 at 08:03
Hello Simon, I am.locked in Nairobi CN19K. Requested the US embassy in my home country to take my case. It was approved. I wonder why they requested nairobi to transfer my case to their post via email. Should I be worried?
June 9, 2025 at 18:09
I don’t understand your question.
June 5, 2025 at 11:01
Hi Simon – thank you for all the amazing work you do educating on the DV lottery process, this has been SUPER helpful. I’m a DV26 winner from the OC region with a relatively high case number (>2800). With the recent (unfortunate) travel bans announced, is there a possibility that this could drive the bulletin numbers for OC “Current” or to higher numbers during the DV26 period if the travel bans remain in place? I recognize that we won’t have a really good view of that until Aug/Sep when the DV26 selectee list gets published but was curious if restrictions of selectees in the AF and AS regions affected could mean higher case numbers in other regions (esp. OC with historical lower numbers of selectees).
June 5, 2025 at 19:00
It’s impossible to answer this precisely because we don’t know how high your number is, how many are selected in each region, how many will be banned, when the ban will be revoked and so on.
However, as a general principle there is a mechanism where unused visas from the quota of one region can be used by the other regions. That has happened before multiple times, and in that case, OC would benefit.
June 5, 2025 at 08:08
Hello Britsiomon. Can people already scheduled for an appointment in June continue their procedures normally?. How long will the Travel Ban last?
June 5, 2025 at 08:48
They can choose to continue, but if the ban remains, their visa will be useless. The ban will probably remain a long time.
June 5, 2025 at 07:08
Hi Simon, please I’m a dv 2026 winner from Ghana and l selected Togo for my interview location on my ds 260 form and submitted it . Now that Togo is partially ban will I get an interview date since am not a Togo citizen or I should unlock and change my interview location?
June 5, 2025 at 07:21
The ban won’t affect your scheduling for interview
June 5, 2025 at 08:03
So please should I transfer my case from Togo ?
June 5, 2025 at 08:48
No need.
June 5, 2025 at 06:09
Thank you Simon, is it possible that this executive order will be revoked or cancelled?
June 5, 2025 at 06:36
It is possible, but not very likely.
June 5, 2025 at 05:42
Dear Mr. Simon,
Do you believe further DV numbers will be drawn because of the travel ban?
With kind regards
Elisabeth
June 5, 2025 at 06:35
No
June 5, 2025 at 05:40
Dear Mr. Brit Simon,
Heartbroken for DV winners in potentially banned countries.
My family has DV2025 Asia, AS213XX from Sri Lanka. With the ban rumors, what are the interview chances for us, and how might it affect the overall Asia prediction?
Thanks for your crucial insights.
June 5, 2025 at 06:35
Read my answer to a similar question.
https://britsimonsays.com/new-travel-ban-introduced-19-countries-affected/comment-page-1/#comment-367703
June 5, 2025 at 05:09
I’m particularly interested in Asia, since my family has a 2025 risky number. Is there data that shows how many winners are from these countries that have not yet been issued visas? Will you produce a revised Asia prediction based on this ban?
This is the Asian list:
Afghanistan
Burma (also known as Myanmar)
Iran
Laos
Turkmenistan
Yemen
June 5, 2025 at 06:33
We have those selectee numbers of course, but the process is a bit like a ship at sea, in that it takes a long time to make a change that affects the VB.
Take Iran for instance. There are many cases that are waiting for 221g to complete, and many of those cases will get issued in the coming months. The ban doesn’t stop their issuance. It simply dissaudes some from attending futures interviews, and it then takes a long time to recapture those no shows to increase the VB. With the time remaining, there is essentially no time for that feedback to have a dramatic effect, other than increasing the chance of a hail mary.
June 5, 2025 at 08:55
Ahhh. This makes sense to me. I’ve told my brother-in-law from early on that we are essentially hoping for a Hail Mary number in July. I guess we will know soon enough.
June 5, 2025 at 04:08
Thanks Mr Simon for your dedicated work. However, My country Sierra Leone is on the List of partially ban countries, you said it will affect dv lottery but does it mean that there will be no DV visas for such countries??
June 5, 2025 at 05:03
I’m not Simon, but, that is correct. There will be no DV visas for these countries.
June 5, 2025 at 06:25
Badically yes. Visas can still be issued, but the recipient cannot enter the USA to activate their status while the ban is in place.