Travel and Immigration Benefit Restrictions Increase to Begin 2026 | Burr & Forman

The immigration panorama has modified significantly since President Trump re-took workplace in January 2025, and with the current enlargement of journey restrictions and an immigration profit pause in addition to the partial suspension of immigrant visa issuance, it seems 2026 can be no totally different. 

Expanded Travel Ban and Immigration Benefit Suspension

In June 2025, the administration introduced entry restrictions for nationals of sure nations, together with a full journey ban for nationals  of 12 nations and a partial ban for nationals of seven extra.  In December 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a memo implementing a pause on all immigration profit requests for people who have been nationals of or who have been born in nations impacted by the  journey ban.  The pause restricts USCIS from approving a wide range of profit requests together with Adjustment of Status Applications, Employment Authorization Document requests, and requests for numerous varieties of employment-based nonimmigrant standing. 

On December 16, 2025, the administration expanded the journey bans to affect 38 complete nations, efficient January 1, 2026.  In a January 1, 2026 memo, USCIS additionally expanded the profit pause to coincide with the expanded journey ban record.  The new memo additionally directs a re-review of any immigration profit request accredited on or after January 20, 2021 for a person who’s a nationwide of or born in one of many restricted nations.  The memo notes that USCIS will proceed to course of circumstances as much as ultimate adjudication; due to this fact, Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny should be issued regardless of the pause.  There are some exceptions to the profit pause, together with circumstances the place the profit request would serve the nationwide curiosity. 

In the restrictions’ present type, nationals from the next nations are topic to the complete ban:  Afghanistan; Burkina Faso; Burma; Chad; Republic of Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Laos; Libya; Mali; Niger; Palestinian Authority; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Sudan;  Sudan; Syria;  and Yemen.  The partial journey ban impacts nationals of the next:  Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Benin; Burundi; Cote d’Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Gabon; The Gambia; Malawi; Mauritania; Nigeria; Senegal; Tanzania; Togo; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Venezuela; Zambia; and Zimbabwe. 

Immigrant Visa Suspension

In conjunction with the journey restrictions and profit pause, the Department of State (“DOS”) has launched a “full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance” for candidates from nations decided to be at excessive threat of benefitting from U.S. welfare applications. Beginning January 21, 2026, all immigrant visa issuance can be paused for nationals of  75 nations. Importantly, the pause impacts immigrant visa purposes at U.S. Consulates overseas, however doesn’t affect I-485 Adjustment of Status purposes. Several, however not all, of the 75 nations are additionally on the record of nations topic to the complete or partial journey restrictions. DOS clarified they are going to proceed to simply accept immigrant visa purposes and schedule and conduct interviews, however no immigrant visas can be issued till additional discover.

Countries Subject to Immigrant Visa Pause

Employer Impact

The profit and immigrant visa pauses are more likely to end in important adjudication delays that might affect employment-based immigration processing.  It is necessary that employers determine overseas nationwide employees impacted by the profit pause and guarantee any crucial extension requests are filed as early as potential.  H-1B extension petitions could be filed as much as 180 days previous to expiration and H-1B beneficiaries obtain an automated 240-day work authorization extension if their extension request is well timed filed. 

Employers also needs to intently monitor any updates to the journey restrictions and/or profit pause.  As famous above, the administration has already expanded the record of nations topic to the journey bans (and due to this fact topic to the profit pause) as soon as, and is probably going to take action once more sooner or later. 

The Burr Immigration workforce will proceed to observe for extra updates associated to journey restrictions or limitations on immigration profit issuance.

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