Recent media coverage has sparked concerns about international travelers entering the US, including the possibility of delays or denials at the US border, especially for travelers with ties to certain countries or political issues. While headlines may amplify isolated incidents, it is important to understand what the actual risks are, and are not, for different categories of travelers. The looming threat of a travel ban being instituted for nationals of certain countries by the Trump administration may also impact some foreign nationals, even if they have valid visas, potentially preventing them from re-entering the country should the ban be imposed while they are outside of the US. In an effort to provide clarity and help travelers make informed decisions before planning a trip abroad, we are providing a brief guide in an effort to minimize concerns and flag any potential areas of concern.
Read moreUS Naturalizations Rose to Record Numbers in the Last Fiscal Year
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) reported in its Fiscal Year 2022 (“FY 2022”) Progress Report that over one million immigrant adults were naturalized as US citizens in FY 2022. The Service “completed 1,122,300 naturalization cases and naturalized 1,023,200 new U.S. citizens” marking the highest number of naturalized citizens in “almost 15 years” and the “third- highest annual tally recorded in U.S. history.”
Read moreNPR: “Passengers Flying to U.S. Face Heightened Screenings, New Questions”
The Trump administration is imposing heightened security measures for both US citizens and foreign passengers traveling to the US as of October 26, 2017. These measures will affect approximately 325,000 passengers on more than 2,000 flights every day, according to NPR. The new regulations come after government officials lifted the ban on certain electronic devices this past July, and gave airlines a three-month timeframe to improve security. "The security measures affect all individuals, international passengers and US citizens, traveling to the United States from a last point of departure international location," Lisa Farbstein, a spokeswoman for the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says.
Read moreThe Other Side
"For the past five months, she had been documenting the gradual unraveling of their lives, in moments both mundane and monumental: the first visit to their home by immigration officers, the delivery of Zunaid’s deportation orders, his final trips to eat American ice cream and watch American basketball. Now only four days remained before he would be sent off to Bangladesh, a deportation that would upend not just one life but two. Zunaid would be forcibly separated from the United States after 20 years; his wife, an American citizen, would be forcibly separated from her husband."