US says applicants denied visa under 'Muslim ban' can reapply

The US travel ban on mostly Muslim-majority and African nationals was lifted by President Joe Biden.
2 min read
09 March, 2021
Applicants may have to repay visa application fees [Getty]
Foreign nationals denied entry to the US under the Trump administration's "Muslim ban" can reapply for visas, the State Department said this week.

Applicants who were refused visas under the travel ban before 20 January 2020 can submit new applications, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.

They will have to pay additional application fees, he added.

Foreign nationals who were refused a visa on or after 20 January 2020 can seek reconsideration of their application without paying additional fees, Price said.

President Joe Biden rescinded the so-called "Muslim ban" on his first day in office in January.

The travel ban, initially introduced in 2017, barred citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen from entering the United States. 

The executive order by former President Donald Trump was subject to several legal challenges.

Subsequent revisions saw Iraq removed from the list, while the ban was expanded to include some restrictions on citizens or officials of Chad, Venezuela, North Korea, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Around 40,000 people have been barred from entering the US under the ban, according to State Department data.

President Biden has overturned a number of controversial immigration restrictions enacted under the Trump administration, including a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their applications were processed.

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