An internal memo seen by Reuters revealed that the country was listed in three separate groups. According to Press TV, the first groups of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, will face full visa suspensions.
In the second group, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan will face partial suspensions affecting tourists and student visas, as well as other immigrant visas, with a few exceptions.
The third group includes 26 countries, including Pakistan, Belarus and Turkmenistan. The memo said that if the government “does not make an effort to address the defect within 60 days,” these countries will face a partial suspension of US visa issuance.
A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity said there may be changes to the list and has not yet been approved by the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Earlier in January, Trump issued an executive order calling for an enhanced security review of foreigners seeking entry to the United States under the pretext of detecting national security threats.
The order required by March 21 to submit a list of countries where travel should be partially or completely suspended due to “very insufficient review and screening information.”
In a speech in October 2023, Trump vowed to limit people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “where else that threatens our safety.”
The move reminds us of many of Trump’s first term bans on travelers from seven vast majority countries, a policy that went through several iterations before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
At the time, Iran called the ban “illegal, inhumane and violated human rights,” and Tehran would take mutual action.
The Islamic Republic emphasized that the law has stripped the human rights defended and practiced by the United States before the world.
MNA