Visa holders from seven predominantly Muslim countries hurried to board US-bound flights at the weekend while Donald Trump's travel ban remained blocked.

They feared they might have only a slim window through which to enter the country after a federal judge temporarily stopped the week-old ban.

US District Judge James Robart blocked Trump's measure Friday in Seattle, causing the Justice Department to demand an emergency freeze of Robart's order Saturday.

The appeal was refused by a Washington court which said it would wait until Monday afternoon for both the ban's opponents and the Justice Department to file responses and counter-responses.

That left thousands of US visa holders rushing to return to the country while they still could - some leaving behind their own children to make the window before it closed.

Munther Alaskry and his family arrive in New York. They spent a week in limbo in Iraq due to Donald Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim countries, which was shelved by a court on Friday

An Iraqi family from Woodbridge, Virginia, welcomes their grandmother, a green card holder who was also held up by the ban, back to the US on Sunday. Trump wants to restore the ban

It's expected that the battle to restore the ban will be an uphill struggle as it faces a mostly liberal appeals court and an evenly split Supreme Court. Trump mocked the judge on Twitter

On Saturday night the Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately set aside Robart's block.

But early Sunday morning the court denied the request, saying that opponents of the ban must have an opportunity to respond to the appeal, and that the Justice Department must file a counter-response to them by Monday afternoon.

In the meantime, thousands of US visa holders from the blocked countries - Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Iran and Somalia - were rushing onto planes to make it into the US before the block could be removed and the ban put back in play.

Nazanin Zinouri, from Tehran, Iran, was escorted off her flight by two officers at a Dubai airport hours after President Donald Trump imposed a ban on immigrants

She said in a Facebook post about her experience: 'After almost 7 years of living the the United States, I got deported!!!'

An Iranian engineer who penned an emotive Facebook post after she was pulled off a plane in Dubai on the way back to the U.S. due to the ban is now returning to the South Carolina city where she works.

A spokesman for an Atlanta-based public relations firm said in an email Sunday that Nazanin Zinouri had cleared through a U.S. immigration check in Boston.

Rick Toller said Zinouri, a PhD graduate from Clemson University, expected to return home Monday to Clemson, where she works for a startup technology firm.

Zinouri, who has been living in the US for seven years, said last week she was taken off a plane in Dubai days after Trump signed the executive order. She had been in Iran visiting her family.

The PhD graduate from Clemson University has lived in the United States for nearly seven years and said that 'everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter'. She shared her story with this picture of a plane on Facebook on Saturday

Rula Aoun, director of the Arab American Civil Rights League in Dearborn, Michigan, said her group - which filed a lawsuit on Tuesday calling the order unconstitutional - is advising people to hurry back to the US.

And she said some have had to make hard choices - such as a Yemeni family who flew from Egypt to New York without two of their children over the weekend, rather than risk waiting for their kids' visas to be processed.

The father and two of the children are US citizens and the mother has an immigrant visa, but the other two kids do not yet have visas, and were left behind with relatives.

'They just don't want to take a chance of waiting,' she said.

For others, the ban's suspension led to happier endings.

One such person is Colorado State University PhD student Hanan Isweiri, who was stranded in Libya with her one-year-old after they flew back to attend her father's funeral and care for her sick mother.

Colorado State University PhD student Hanan Isweiri and her one-year-old son (both pictured) were stranded in Libya after she returned for her father's funeral only to be hit with the ban

Isweiri, who has lived in Colorado since 2010, was unable to return to her husband and their three other children in the US after the ban was imposed, finding herself stuck in airports in Jordan, Turkey and Germany 9News reported.

'I kinda really got scared that she wasn't gonna come back,' Isweiri's daughter, Manar, said.

'We've gotten a lot of support from my friends and other families around us, but it's just not the same when your mom is like halfway around the world.'

But the stay on the travel ban gave Isweiri an opening to return, and on Saturday the family got confirmation that - after being detained by immigration officials in Boston - their mother was coming home.

'The fact that my mom is now in the US and is able to move from Boston, Massachusetts to Denver, Colorado in a matter of a plane ride is extravagantly amazing,' Manar said.

Isweiri has now been reunited with her husband and three other children (all pictured) after the stay on the travel ban opened a window for her to travel

Another academic whose plans to travel to the US were temporarily scuppered was Nima Enayati, 29, who has a visa to conduct research on robotic surgery at Stamford University in California.

The researcher, who received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in his home country of Tehran and a master's degree in Italy, had been prevented from boarding a flight to the US last week.

But on Sunday he boarded an Emirates flight from Italy to New York, so he could continue his studies. He is currently working on his doctorate in the Italian city of Milan.

Enayati said check-in at the Milan airport went smoothly, but an airport desk employee told him 'she personally would be scared to go to the United States now.'

And on Saturday Ammar Alnajjar landed in JFK after finally being able to board a flight from Turkey, where he had been visiting his fiancee.

He had planned to stay in the country for three months with her, but returned to the US immediately when the ban was lifted, where he was met by his cousin, Fahd Alfakih.

'I got to study. I got to do some work,' said Alnajjar. He said he fled civil war in Yemen and moved to the U.S. from Turkey in 2015. 'I'm Muslim. I'm proud of it. Islam means peace.'

Italy-based Iranian researcher Nima Enayati holds up his ticket to New York, where he will work on surgical robotics research. He landed on Sunday after Trump's ban was suspended Friday

Ammar Alnajjar (left) shakes hands with his cousin after successfully traveling from Turkey to New York on Saturday. The suspension of Donald Trump's travel ban made his trip possible

For some arriving in New York, the stories were a little different.

Fariba Tajrostami, a 32-year-old painter from Iran, came through the gate at Kennedy with a huge smile and tears in her eyes as her brothers greeted her with joyful hugs.

'I'm very happy. I haven't seen my brothers for nine years,' she said.

Tajrostami had tried to fly to the U.S. from Turkey over a week ago but was turned away.

'I was crying and was so disappointed,' she said. 'Everything I had in mind, what I was going to do, I was so disappointed about everything. I thought it was all over.'

Tajrostami said she hopes to study art in the U.S. and plans to join her husband in Dallas soon. He moved from Iran six months ago, has a green card and is working at a car dealership.

Fariba Tajrostami, center, of Iran, is embraced by her brothers Joseph, left, and Eddie, right, Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport after arriving on her flight from Istanbul

And for Munther Alaskry, 37, and his family they had faced death threats in Iraq for his work as a translator and bomb-clearer with the US Army.

Their hope of starting their life anew seemed to have been shattered by Trump's ban, and they spent a week waiting in limbo in Baghdad.

But after the ban went into place - and before it was outright suspended by Robart's ruling - the Trump administration partially reversed its decision, allowing those who had worked as translators for the US military to enter the country.

He was one of several Iraqi translators who had been turned away.

Munther Alaskry and his family faced death threats for his work as a translator and bomb-clearer for the US Army in Iraq, but arrived on Friday after the Trump administration had allowed entry for military translators; that same day the entire ban was shelved

He arrived in the US on Friday accompanied by his wife Hiba, son Hassan and daughter Dima; his entry to the country had been aided by a number of US veterans, including the veteran-run No One Left Behind organization.

'I don't believe this is real,' he said. 'We always watch American movies, and this is just like my life is in one now. I'm speechless.'

He added: 'I just want to tell Mr. Trump, President Trump: 'We are your allies. Please let us be your friends. We want to be your friends. Don't let the Iraqi people down. We look to America like it is our big brother.''

For others who have yet to even make it to US shores, the outlook was more grim.

Moayed Maher, 24, a refugee at the UN refugee agency HQ in Amman, Jordan, said he had filed paperwork for his family, but that he believed Trump would soon re-impose the ban

Moayed Maher, 24, is a refugee at the UN refugee agency headquarters in Amman, Jordan.

On Sunday, after refiling paperwork for his eight-person family, he said that while his relatives were hoping to join the resettlement program, he didn't believe that the ban would remain off the books for long.

'Of course we are happy that the ruling was overturned, but we also know he's going to immediately oppose this,' he said.

Mahsa Azabadi, 29, an Iranian-American who lives in Denver, was forced to put her wedding plans on hold after her fiance, Sorena Behzadfar, was turned away when he tried to board a plane to travel from Iran to the U.S. on Jan. 28.

Over the weekend, though, Behzadfar was cleared for travel and was expected to arrive at Boston's Logan Airport on Sunday afternoon.

'It's been a really tough week to figure out what will happen to us,' said Azabadi, who has lived in the U.S. for 11 years and is now a U.S. citizen.

The couple are hoping to keep their wedding date of May 12.

'Seeing the support from the lawyers and different people trying to help, it was really nice,' she said. 'We want to be the best and do the best for the people and for this country. We would love to have the opportunity.'

Although many of those who scrambled for the US border were worried they would have just days to get into the US before the ban was restored, it emerged Sunday that Trump's administration might struggle to get the executive order returned.

One reason for that is that the 9th Circuit of Appeals, where the Justice Department filed its appeal, is seen as one of the most liberal in the US, USA Today reported.

The San Francisco-based court has 18 judges named by Democratic presidents, and only seven by Republicans.

And even the Supreme Court may provide scant relief for the Trump administration, as it will need a majority vote of five to overturn Robart's block.

The Supreme Court is currently tied 4-4 between Democrat and Republican judges while Trump's replacement for Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, awaits confirmation hearings.

However, on Sunday Vice President Mike Pence vowed to use 'all legal means at our disposal' to reinstate the Muslim travel ban.

'From the outset of his campaign and administration, the president of the United States has made it clear to put the safety of the American people first,' Pence told Fox News Sunday. 'We are going to win this argument.'

Meanwhile, Trump has lashed out at Judge Robart on Twitter, calling him a 'so-called judge' and saying his 'ridiculous' ruling would be overturned.

Trump ranted about the judge's 'terrible decision' and fretted that 'dangerous people' would enter the US. Up to 60,000 foreigners had their visas 'provisionally revoked' due to the order

Trump claimed Judge James Robart's decision 'opens up our country to potential terrorists'. A wave of travelers rushed to enter the US while the travel ban was put on hold

In later tweets, Trump ranted: 'Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. A terrible decision.'

And, he added: 'The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!'

US officials have said up to 60,000 foreigners had their visas 'provisionally revoked' to comply with Trump's order.

Confusion during the roll-out of the ban initially found green card holders caught in travel limbo, until the White House on Wednesday clarified that they would be allowed to enter and leave the US as they pleased.

Protesters against Trump's travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations stood in front of the Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday

Although the government suspended enforcement of the travel ban while it sought an emergency stay of Robart's order, some airlines reportedly still weren't letting some people from the seven countries board their planes, at least initially.

Royal Jordanian Airlines, which operates direct flights from Amman to New York, Chicago and Detroit, said it would resume carrying nationals from the seven countries as long as they presented a valid US visa or green card.

But in the African nation of Djibouti, immigration attorney Julie Goldberg said a Qatar Airways representative told her that immigrants from all seven countries affected by the ban were not allowed to fly Saturday afternoon.

A Qatar Airways spokeswoman said the airline would begin boarding travelers from those countries.

Goldberg said she was trying to arrange flights for dozens of Yemeni citizens who have immigrant visas and were stranded there.

About 140 Somali refugees whose resettlement in the US this week was stopped by Trump's executive order have been sent back to Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya

She said a supervisor at Turkish Airlines told her that people holding immigrant and non-immigrant visas from the seven countries still were being banned unless they had a special email from the US Customs and Border Protection with the person's name and passport number.

A 12-year-old Yemeni girl whose parents and siblings are US citizens living in California was finally allowed to depart after 'an hour-and-half of fighting' with officials, Goldberg said. It was unclear when she would arrive.

'Her mother is on pins and needles ... her father is on the plane with her,' Stacey Gartland, a San Francisco attorney who represented the girl, said in an email.

Refugees also awaited word on their fates.

A Somali refugee said about 140 refugees whose resettlement in the US was blocked by Trump's executive order were sent back to their refugee camp and it was unclear if or when they could travel.

Nadir Hassan said the refugees were relocated to Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya on Saturday.

They had been expected to settle in the US this week and had been staying at an International Organization for Migration transit center in Nairobi.

'I was hoping to start a new life in the US,' Hassan said. 'We feel bad.'

A large group gathered at the band shell at Smothers Park on Saturday in Owensboro, Kentucky, to participate in an interfaith solidarity rally

The State Department has advised refugee aid agencies that refugees who had been scheduled to travel before the order was signed will now be allowed into the US.

A State Department official said in an email obtained by The Associated Press that the government is 'focusing on booking refugee travel through February 17,' and they were working to have arrivals resume as soon as Monday.

American businesses affected by the ban also were jumping into action.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who quit Trump's business advisory council this week following criticism of his initial response to Trump's ban, said his company is buying plane tickets for some of its drivers who are stranded.

He tweeted Friday night that the head of litigation for the ride-hailing app is 'buying a whole bunch of airline tickets ASAP!'

Protesters also took to the streets in several cities to protest the ban. Thousands gathered at Denver's City Center Park Saturday, carrying signs, chanting and singing.

'I find it utterly cruel that Trump is depriving people of the same dreams my family and I had,' 17-year-old Zahra Abdulameer told the crowd, explaining that she came to the US as a refugee from Iraq and is now a US citizen.

She recounted being welcomed and treated with respect, but fears things could change amid fears over immigrants.

'No religion inflicts terror on people, but those who do so in the name of a faith have only twisted its value,' Abdulameer said.

Meanwhile, legal advocates waited at airports to offer assistance to new arrivals in case anything went wrong.

Volunteer attorney Renee Paradis was among 20-25 lawyers and interpreters who stationed themselves inside JFK's Terminal 4 in case anyone arrived Saturday needing help.

Paradis said they were carrying handmade signs in Arabic and Farsi that said 'we're lawyers, we're here to help. We're not from the government.'