Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act gives the President power to suspend the entry of whole classes of noncitizens by proclamation. Since June 2025 it has been used to bar or limit entry from dozens of countries, and consular officers now refuse visas citing it. For people with visa cases pending, it changes both the likely outcome and what a court can do about delay.

Quick Facts

  • Statute: 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)
  • Leading case: Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667 (2018)
  • Current ban: Proclamation 10998, in effect since January 1, 2026
  • Scope: 19 countries and Palestinian Authority documents fully; 20 countries partially
  • Applies to: people outside the U.S. without a valid visa on the effective date

The power

“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate” (8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)). The Supreme Court upheld a 2017 travel ban under this provision and described the grant of authority as broad (Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667 (2018)).

The 2025–26 travel bans

Proclamation 10949 (June 4, 2025)

Effective June 9, 2025, it fully suspended entry for nationals of 12 countries and partially suspended it for 7 more, on the basis of deficient vetting and high visa-overstay rates.

Proclamation 10998 (December 16, 2025)

Effective January 1, 2026, it continued and expanded the ban:

  • Full suspension of immigrant and nonimmigrant entry for nationals of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and for anyone traveling on documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.
  • Partial suspension, covering immigrant visas and B, F, M and J visas, for nationals of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For Turkmenistan only immigrant visas remain suspended; the proclamation lifted its visitor and student restrictions.

Who is not covered

The suspensions apply only to people who were outside the United States and did not hold a valid visa on the effective date. Categorical exceptions cover lawful permanent residents, dual nationals traveling on a passport of a non-listed country, diplomatic and international-organization visas, athletes traveling for major sporting events, special immigrant visas for U.S. government employees, and immigrant visas for persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in Iran. Case-by-case exceptions may be granted by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security when travel would serve the national interest.

Proclamation 10998 narrowed the June 2025 exceptions. The earlier categorical exceptions for immediate-relative immigrant visas and adoptions were replaced: in the proclamation’s words, “immigrant visas for family members of individuals in the United States will no longer be a broad categorical exception.”

What happens to a pending visa case

For a covered applicant, a consular officer refuses the visa under § 212(f), citing the proclamation, unless an exception applies. That refusal can end a delay lawsuit. In Sorbi v. Rubio, No. 25-cv-2353 (D.D.C. Aug. 24, 2026), an American citizen had sued over her Iranian husband’s spousal visa, which had been in administrative processing since 2024. During the case the embassy re-adjudicated it and refused it under § 212(f) and Proclamation 10998, and the court dismissed the delay claim as moot.

Applicants not covered by a ban can still face long administrative processing. That is the subject of visa applications held in administrative processing.

Other § 212(f) proclamations

Section 212(f) was also invoked at the southern border in January 2025 (Proclamation 10888) and for H-1B workers in September 2025, when Proclamation 10973 made entry conditional on a $100,000 payment; Proclamation 11069 extended that restriction to September 21, 2027. See the index of immigration executive orders and proclamations.

Sources

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