WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on people from six predominantly Muslim countries and all refugees entering the United States is finally scheduled to take effect later on Thursday, but in a scaled-back form that still allows in some travellers.
The rollout of the controversial measure follows a US Supreme Court decision this week that allowed the executive order to take effect but significantly narrowed its scope, exempting travellers and refugees with a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States.
It is set to go into effect at 8 pm ET (0000 GMT Friday).
Late on Wednesday, the State Department said visa applicants from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen must have a close US family relationship or formal ties to a US entity to be admitted to the United States.
Trump first announced a temporary travel ban in January, calling it a counterterrorism measure to allow time to develop better security vetting.
— Reuters
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