The 2026 US Travel Ban and Entry Restrictions for International Students
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026
A presidential proclamation signed December 16, 2025 blocks entry for nationals of 39 countries starting January 1, 2026, and it fully bans F, M and J student visas for 19 of those countries.
🛂 19 countries face a full ban: no F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1 or J-2 visas issued or honored.
20 more countries face a partial ban that still blocks F, M and J visas while other visa types stay open.
Visas issued before January 1, 2026 stay valid and are not revoked.
Green card holders, dual nationals traveling on another passport, and asylees are exempt.
Check travel.state.gov and your school's international office before you book travel.
What changed on January 1, 2026
President Trump signed Presidential Proclamation 10998 on December 16, 2025. It took effect January 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time and expands an earlier proclamation from June 2025 that covered 19 countries. The new version covers 39 countries plus travelers on Palestinian Authority-issued documents, according to NAFSA's summary of the proclamation and a Congressional Research Service analysis . It sorts countries into two groups, a full ban and a partial ban, and the groups treat F, M and J student and exchange visas differently.
Background: how the list grew
The original proclamation, issued June 4, 2025, restricted 19 countries under similar full and partial categories. The December 16, 2025 proclamation folds those countries into the new 39-country list and adds new ones, moving a few countries, including Laos and Sierra Leone, from partial to full restriction along the way. The administration cites gaps in identity verification, information sharing on travelers, and visa overstay rates as its stated reasons for the additions, according to NAFSA's summary of the proclamation.
Full ban: no student or exchange visas at all
Nineteen countries sit under a full ban that blocks every immigrant and nonimmigrant visa category, including F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1 and J-2. If you hold a passport from one of these countries and do not already have a valid US visa, you cannot get one while the ban stands: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The ban also covers anyone traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.
If you are from a full-ban country and already have an admission offer but no visa yet, pause your visa application and talk with your school's international student office about deferring your start date instead of losing your seat entirely. Most SEVP-certified schools update a program start date on your Form I-20 without you losing your admission, though each school decides case by case.
Partial ban: student visas blocked, other categories stay open
Twenty more countries face a partial ban: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, the Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For these countries, F, M and J visas are suspended, so students and exchange visitors cannot get one. Other nonimmigrant categories, such as H-1B work visas and O-1 visas for extraordinary ability, stay open, though consular officers cut the validity period on any other visa type they still issue where policy allows it.
Turkmenistan is a partial exception inside this group. The December 2025 proclamation lifted its earlier restriction on B visitor visas and F, M and J student visas, while keeping its immigrant visa ban in place.
Who is exempt
The proclamation does not apply to everyone from a listed country. Exemptions include:
Anyone who already held a valid visa on or before December 31, 2025. Existing visas are not revoked by this proclamation.
Lawful permanent residents, meaning green card holders.
Dual nationals traveling on a passport from a country not on either list.
Diplomatic visa holders (A, G and NATO visa series) and some international organization staff.
Athletes and support staff traveling for designated major sporting events.
People already granted asylum or refugee status.
Case-by-case national interest waivers, granted at a consular officer's discretion.
What to do if you are affected
Confirm your exact situation before you book travel or pay a SEVIS fee. Court challenges and administration amendments add or remove countries from these lists with little notice, so treat this as a snapshot as of August 2026, not a permanent rule. Check the current list directly at travel.state.gov and contact your admitted school's international student office, since most large universities track the proclamation and post advisories for admitted and enrolled students.
If you are from a partial-ban country and already hold a valid F, M or J visa, keep a copy of your visa, passport and I-20 or DS-2019 with you when you travel, and expect closer questioning from a Customs and Border Protection officer at your port of entry.
The exemption for already-issued visas means students and exchange visitors who held a valid F, M or J visa before January 1, 2026 keep that visa. It does not automatically guarantee smooth re-entry after you travel: confirm your situation with your school's international student office before you leave the country and again before you fly back, since border officers apply current guidance at the port of entry.