The Supreme Court has upheld the travel ban. They were split 5-4 on “party lines”, meaning Justice Gorsuch (appointed by Trump) delivered him his victory. That is the final verdict and means the terms of the travel ban as currently in place will continue as long as this administration wants, or Congress changes the law. That is a blow to people from the banned countries, and effectively destroys the hopes of thousands of DV selectees in DV2018 and DV2019.
So – if you are affected by the travel ban (and do not have dual citizenship) you should not even interview unless you feel you have some sort of exception that applies to you.
October 2, 2020 at 18:47
Hi MR Brit .I have a valid visa, will I be able to travel on December 31st to enter the USA on January 1st? Toi bé there after midnight in order to circumvent the travel ban? lol
October 3, 2020 at 01:34
THat will depend on flight schedules.
June 7, 2020 at 02:12
Hi Simon,
Regarding the travel ban for DV 2021 selectees from Iran, is there any hope that the ban would be lifted before the interview assuming the chance for a change in US presidency? Or it takes longer than that for any change in the travel ban status?
Thanks for your great blog 🙂
June 7, 2020 at 04:39
If Trump loses Biden will probably remove the band in January.
June 14, 2020 at 17:21
Thanks. So, we should be hoping that he doesn’t get elected.
June 14, 2020 at 19:14
Everyone should be hoping that. Worst. President. Ever.
February 1, 2020 at 06:55
Hi Brit!
My question is about filing income taxes with the US IRS as a permanent resident still planning to move finally. I am a DV 2019 winner, entered the US last December and returned. I plan to move finally later this year. I already got my green card and social security number. I would like to know if I am obliged to file income taxes with the US IRS for the period I am still working abroad. Thanks
February 1, 2020 at 19:40
You need to file for 2019, yes.
February 1, 2020 at 05:01
Hi dear BritSimon! My case number is 2020EU000444**. Country of birth Kyrgyzstan. Does this mean that my case number will not be interviewed at all due to this travel ban? I already sent my ds and supporting documents.
February 1, 2020 at 04:50
Hi dear BritSimon! My case number is 2029EU000444**. Country of birth Kyrgyzstan. Does this mean that my case number will not be interviewed at all now?
February 1, 2020 at 06:00
There are many news outlets reporting the changes to the travel ban and it appears to be accurate. However, the proclamation itself has not been made available yet – so I am going to wait until I see that to advise on specifics.
February 1, 2020 at 00:36
Travel ban extended including Myanmar – https://time.com/5775596/trump-travel-ban-expansion/ . We are from Myanmar scheduled to be interviewed in early March. I don’t know what to do now. Should we procced with Medical Exam and Interview which will cost a lot of money.
February 1, 2020 at 04:31
There are many news outlets reporting the changes to the travel ban and it appears to be accurate. However, the proclamation itself has not been made available yet – so I am going to wait until I see that to advise on specifics.
February 1, 2020 at 06:09
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-improving-enhanced-vetting-capabilities-processes-detecting-attempted-entry/
What a impeccable timing :D. What can we do? Banned is banned since our country can’t even meet the minimum requirement. We will try to call the embassy on Monday anyway to enquiry about the inteview appointment.
February 1, 2020 at 06:29
Not much you can do. Perhaps there would be some legal injunction, but given the rest of the ban survived challenges, I would think the chances of challenging this are slim.
February 1, 2020 at 06:47
hopefully that would happen within next week. finger crossed. because our medical appointment is next week after next week.
February 1, 2020 at 19:40
You should probably cancel or at least delay your medical.
February 1, 2020 at 09:59
but, the legal injunction is very difficult to happen now since it’s already been upheld by supreme court. looking forward to next dv-2021 now because it has more chance because of the passport requirement. hopefully we win again and ban has been lifted. anyway, all the best to everyone who are able to proced with dv
August 3, 2019 at 10:24
Hi Brit
I won 2020 Dv Lottery
Foreign State Chargeability: SAUDI ARABIA
Case Number: 2020AS 18xxx
Origin country: Somalia
Travel documnet : Somali Passport
Will the travel ban affect my case?
Thanks.
August 3, 2019 at 15:39
Country of birth?
August 3, 2019 at 16:19
Country of birth is Saudi Arabia.
August 3, 2019 at 16:53
So there is some risk that they treat you as a Somali “national”. The rules on that are not well defined as far as I have found.
June 14, 2020 at 18:44
Hello sahal i’m in the same position and also from somalia..i would like to know what happened with u??
July 21, 2019 at 19:32
Hello Simon,
Sorry for asking again and again, I’m DV2019 winner and I hold a Syrian passport only, I live in UAE since 2001, I was traveling to Syria regularly, however, I haven’t travelled to Syria since 2011 as I have genuine fear to travel over there.
How do I apply for the waiver???
Thanks in advance.
July 22, 2019 at 05:40
Assuming you were born in Syria, nothing you have mentioned makes you eligible for a waiver.
May 18, 2019 at 08:57
Hello Brit
I am on travel ban DV2019 but in process of obtaining a second citizenship, is it still a valid waiver?
However my interview is approaching this June, so if I attend the interview and I still don’t have the second passport then i lose my chance or they will put my case for further processing?
Shall i better reschedule the interview..
Thanks for the help
May 18, 2019 at 13:32
Your case is obviously risky. In your case, rescheduling is probably the least risky.
May 17, 2019 at 16:08
hi britsimon i’m from somalia and i won the dv lottery 2020 so did the trump ban effect dv lottery winners in 2020?
May 17, 2019 at 20:34
Yes
May 17, 2019 at 20:44
Thanks for your time so should i stop to fill in form ds-260 and is there any possibilities to do thanks a lot sir.
April 13, 2019 at 19:53
Hello Brit,
Im one of those unlucky ppl who win 2018 lottery but got affected by PP 9645. My interview was 3days ago & the ofgicer handed me the red paper 🙁
Then she said my only suggestion for you is to find a job until 30sep, email us with signed job offer letter (!) & the compnay’s 2 years TAX record. We will then interview you again to see if that’s a reasonable offer and if so the embassy itself prepare a waiver for final decision!
I’ve asked her what kind of job offer should it be ( like position wise, company’s size, salary range,…) & she answered shortly ” it can’t be an offers from McDonald’s for instance!”
Could you please advise where can I read more about this job offer exception and how positive this whole thing could be?
Cheers
Nasim
P.s: Im an Iranian origin but my application was reflecting my past 13yrs living in Dubai (UAE)
April 13, 2019 at 20:25
Honestly that would be a waste of time. Waivers are exceptionally rare – and having a job offer certainly does NOT guarantee a waiver will be granted – EVEN IF there was time to conclude the case (i.e. get the waiver and get background checked), which there isn’t. Honestly – you wasted your time and money attending the interview. I am an optimistic person, but realistic. You would simply be wasting more time and money pursuing this…
April 24, 2019 at 18:19
understood 🙁 Thanks very much Brit
November 25, 2018 at 07:01
Brit I’m so confused about this travel ban and I read all given information by you.as far as I understand this doesn’t applies to people who have dual citizenship from ban countries isn’t it?
November 25, 2018 at 15:28
Correct.
October 9, 2018 at 19:53
Thank you so much for your response. One more question. How do I know when a visa number has been assigned and an interview has been scheduled? Which site are we supposed to check?
October 9, 2018 at 20:16
https://britsimonsays.com/dv2019-basic-questions/
October 9, 2018 at 19:06
Hi Brit, my cousin won the 2019 DV visa Lottery. She is in syria but her whole family (parents and siblings) are in the US. I’m assuming she’s affected by the Trump Ban. She is Christian and affected by the Civil War. How do we apply for a waiver? If she gets called for an interview, should she go? The interview will be held in embassy in Lebanon.
FYI, I noticed that the results of the 2018 DV visa lottery says 414 Syrians came to America. How did they be able to come under the ban?
October 9, 2018 at 19:25
You apply for a waiver at the interview. The waiver is hard to obtain and not guaranteed – few people get a waiver. If she wants to apply she should contact a lawyer get assistance.
August 11, 2018 at 16:44
Hi Simon,
I am a DV2019 winner.
My passport has an extra name which is not on the DS260. Will that be a problem during interview?
August 12, 2018 at 00:01
Possibly. You should correct the DS260.