U.S. Supreme Court will Hear Travel Ban Case

On Monday, June 26th, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments in response to President Trump's travel ban. The Supreme Court is allowing some parts of the travel ban to remain in effect.

The Supreme Court stayed the injunctions issued by lower courts with respect to "foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States." This means that foreign nationals who lack a connection to the U.S. cannot enter. Individuals carrying a valid work or student visa should be unaffected by the travel ban. An individual traveling must have a "close familial relationship" with someone in the U.S. already.

After January's executive order creating the travel ban was revoked, a new one was issued on March 6, 2017. The new executive order prohibited the entry of certain individuals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for 90 days. This executive order did, however, contain more exceptions than the first.

Since determining an individual's "bona fide relationship" requires discretion, all foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. with ties to these 6 countries should use caution. Travelers may not seek a relationship with a person or entity in the U.S. solely for the purpose of avoiding the ban.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement regarding the travel ban on June 26th. DHS acknowledged that the department has been directed to implement the executive order. The department also stated that the granting of a partial stay of the circuit injunctions restores the constitutional authority to the executive branch to defend national borders. Further, DHS stated that implementation will be done "professionally, with clear and sufficient public notice... and in coordination with partners in the travel industry."

For more information:

Read the full text from the Supreme Court here.

Read the full press release from DHS here.

If you have specific questions regarding travel, please contact us directly.