Does the Trump Travel Ban Mean Americans Can’t Visit the…

As of Monday, the Trump administration’s new travel ban has taken effect.

Foreign nationals from 12 countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, are barred from entering the United States. And people from an additional seven countries are now subject to heightened restrictions.

According to the White House, the move is necessary to protect national security and guard against other “public safety threats.”

In a video announcing the ban, President Trump cited the recent firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, as an example of the “extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas.”

Which countries are covered by Trump’s travel ban?

The dozen countries deemed by the Trump administration to be “deficient” in their “screening and vetting” processes for citizens applying to enter the United States: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The full travel ban applies to people from all of those places.

The seven countries subject to heightened restrictions are: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Mind you, the man charged in the Colorado attack is from Egypt, as NPR reports.

Please note that Egypt is not one of the countries covered by the ban.

Though it feels like a century ago, Trump also ordered a travel ban in 2017, during his first term. President Joe Biden lifted that one after taking office.

How will the travel ban affect American tourists?

Few of the affected countries are exactly heavy hitters in tourism among Americans. It’s reasonable, however, to wonder: Does the travel ban mean U.S. citizens can’t visit the places on Trump’s list?

The answer, generally speaking, is no. The ban does not work that way.

In other words, this is a one-way ban. Foreign nationals from the blocked countries can’t come to the United States, but Americans can, in most cases, go there.

Keep in mind, though, that many of the destinations on the banned list have been deemed unsafe to visit by the U.S. State Department, which assesses threat levels on a 4-level system, with the most serious, level 4, prompting the government to advise, “Do Not Travel” to those countries due to issues such as terrorism, armed conflict, or extremely high levels of crime.

But a level 4 advisory is just that—an advisory. Not a legal prohibition against going there.

In any case, not all 19 countries on the fully or partially banned list have level 4 advisories from the State Department. The threat levels of two—Burundi and Chad—are currently marked level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”).

Five—Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Sierra Leone, and Togo—are at level 2 (“Exercise Increased Caution”).

And there’s even one—Turkmenistan—at level 1 (“Exercise Normal Precautions”).

Another thing to remember for Americans planning trips to any of the countries mentioned above (or to any countries, period): You’re still responsible for fulfilling any entry requirements pertaining to passports, visas, and other bits of red tape, so make sure to find out what those are.

Turkmenistan has a notoriously difficult visa process, for instance, requiring a letter of invitation and an in-person embassy appointment.

And don’t get us started on Cuba. Going there for straight-up tourism remains forbidden by law, so any U.S. visitor is in for quite a bit of bureaucratic rigmarole, but the process has been unchanged by the Trump travel bans that went into effect June 9.

Finally, in the case of destinations on the list that are experiencing high levels of violence or armed conflict, flights, ground transportation, accommodations, and other travel essentials will likely be difficult to obtain.

To take Haiti as an example, the ongoing civil unrest there has resulted in flight suspensions and decisions by cruise lines to remove the country from itineraries. (A 2018 photo of Royal Caribbean’s private Labadee resort in Haiti is pictured at the top of this page.)

So although the short answer is yes to the question of whether Americans can visit countries on the travel ban list, it’s important to remember the visit may not be easy. Still, the rules about reaching these places have not been changed by the new travel ban.

At least, not yet. At any time, any of the affected countries could decide to retaliate and ban Americans in response to Trump’s actions.