Instructions issued to US embassies for travellers from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen – and all refugees – to take effect on Thursday

A modified version of Donald Trump’s travel ban is set to come into effect at 8pm ET on Thursday as the administration faced mounting criticism for issuing a set of strict new criteria for visa applicants from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees targeted in the ban.

A supreme court ruling on Monday lifted parts of lower court injunctions blocking Trump’s divisive March order, and mandated that those who lacked a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” could now be denied entry to the US.

Senior administration officials said on Thursday that such “bona fide” relationships would be defined in very specific terms. New visa applicants from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen seeking to prove a personal relationship must have either a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the US to be eligible for entry. Other family relations, such a grandparents and fiances, would not be counted. Those seeking to prove a relationship with an entity, such as a business or educational institution, must have “formal and documented” evidence of such a relationship.

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Most of the same criteria would be applied to refugee admissions too. But crucially, an administration official noted, a refugee’s relationship with their resettlement agency “is not sufficient in and of itself to establish a bona fide relationship”. Advocates were quick to point out that many refugees entering the US have only got relationships with their non-government resettlement agencies before they arrive.

Visas that have already been approved will not be revoked, the officials said and the state department said on Wednesday refugees scheduled for travel up until 6 July would be permitted to enter.

The officials promised an orderly rollout on Thursday saying they expected “business as usual” at airports around the US.

They added that people in the affected countries who already had visa interview appointments booked should attend them as scheduled. Agents would then “make ‘case by case’ decisions on whether individuals will be eligible under the new guidance”.



“This guidance shows a cruel indifference to families, some already torn apart by war and horrifying levels of violence,” said Naureen Shah, Amnesty International USA’s senior director of campaigns in a statement.

“This reported guidance would slam the door shut on so many who have waited for months or years to be reunited with their families,” added Karen Tumlin, legal director at the National Immigration Law Center.

Administration officials said the decision to strictly define legitimate family ties was based on the definition of family in the Immigration and Nationality Act.



But Mark Wasef, a senior attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (Irap), said the move was an obvious break from norms.

“The family structures in the Middle East tend to be different to how they are in the US. At some points aunts and uncles might raise a child, or the grandparents might do so, and if this child is here and wants to bring over their aunts and uncles they can’t do that over the next 90 days,” Wasef told the Guardian.

“It really just shows again what the real target of this travel ban is.”

Kay Bellor, vice-president for programs at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), said the decision not to include relations with resettlement agencies as “bona fide” would cause havoc for many refugees.

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“Why wouldn’t a church or why wouldn’t a resettlement organization have the same kind of relationship with that refugee as a university has with a student?” Bellor said. “In fact, I would say we’ve got a stronger, more humanitarian and emotional connection to that refugee than the average college has.”

Bellor estimated that around 40% of LIRS clients, including unaccompanied minors, had no ties at all to the US other than their interaction with the agency.

Trump’s initial travel ban in January led to chaos at airports around the world. After a judge blocked the original ban, Trump issued a scaled-down order, and the court’s action on Monday further reduced the number of people who would be covered by it. While the initial order took effect immediately, adding to the confusion, this one was delayed 72 hours after the court’s ruling.

Would-be immigrants from the six counties who won a coveted visa in the government’s diversity lottery – a program that randomly awards 50,000 green cards annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US – will have to prove they have a “bona fide relationship” within the US or are eligible for another waiver or face being banned for at least 90 days. That hurdle may be a difficult one for those immigrants to overcome, as many visa lottery winners do not have relatives in the US, or jobs in advance of arriving in the country.

Generally, winners only need prove they were born in an eligible county and have completed high school or have at least two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two other years of training or experience.