Everyone: We are passing on the following proclamation regarding the country's new travel ban. This information was sent to us from the International Scholar Services office. Please read, carefully, the attached message before you make plans to travel out of the country. Donna “New” Travel Ban The administration issued a Proclamation on September 24, 2017, amending the existing Travel Ban. The September 24 Proclamation essentially revives Section 2(c) (relating to visa applications by certain foreign nationals) effective October 18, 2017, and alters the affected countries. The new "list of 8" countries comprises Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. The specific nature of the Travel Ban depends on the country in question. Suspension of entry will not apply to individuals who (1) Hold greencards, (2) Have been admitted to or paroled into the U.S. on or after October 18, 2017, (3) Have been issued a travel document other than a visa (such as an advance parole document) which is valid on or after October 18, 2017, and others. The Proclamation provides that waivers may be granted on a case-by-case basis and lists specific examples of situations where a waiver might be available, including circumstances where the individual has a prior history of work or study in the U.S. or where the prospective entry is for "professional or business obligations" (which arguably could include new employment in the US). For more information, please see our detailed explanation of the Travel Ban on the IntlScholars Sharepoint <https://sp2013.itap.purdue.edu/ippu/iss/intlscholars/ImmiWiki/Travel%20Ban.aspx> site. What Does the “New” Travel Ban Mean? *_Travel: _*ISS continues to strongly recommend that our international faculty, staff and scholars do not engage in any unnecessary travel. ·We strongly recommend that individuals who hold passport from the countries listed above use extreme caution before engaging in any travel, regardless of whether they already hold a visa. ·Possession of an unexpired visa does not guarantee admission. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers "inspect" foreign nationals at land / sea ports-of-entry and at airports to evaluate whether admission may be granted. We are seeing a slightly higher rate of denial of admission by the CBP in general. CBP is permitted to revoke the visa of an individual who is denied admission. For example, this is happening (but is not limited to) to individuals who have visited one of the listed countries in the past. ·Visa Applications in general are taking longer, and there is a much higher rate of Administrative Processing. There is nothing by law that ISS or Purdue can do to impact the duration of Administrative Processing. *_Pending Permanent Residents_*: Individuals who have a Form I-140 approved are not yet permanent residents, and thus are subject to the Travel Ban in terms of visa issuance. At this time, it does not appear that pending or new adjustment of status applications will be affected by the Travel Ban. *_No Time Limit_*: The ban, as envisioned by the Proclamation, does not have a time-limit – in other words, it does not have a pre-set end date. The ban for any given country continues until it is lifted. The DHS will evaluate the ban 180 days from implementation and every 180 days thereafter. *_No "Bona Fide Relationship":_* The Proclamation eliminates the Supreme Court's "bona fide relationship" standard. The Proclamation does specify F, J and M visas in its provisions, but work visas (such as but not limited to H-1B) are not listed in the Proclamation as a consideration. A current, pre-existing or prospective work relationship is a possible basis for a waiver, but should not be considered a guarantee of waiver issuance. *_Please distribute this summary to your departments and international faculty, staff and scholars._* Best regards, International Scholar Services