More Countries Face U. S. Travel Limits

The U. S. government has added 20 more countries to its travel ban list. This means people from these countries will find it harder to visit or move to the U. S. The new rules start on January 1st. Five countries now face a complete ban. These are Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. People with Palestinian Authority travel documents also can't enter the U. S. anymore. Fifteen other countries now have partial restrictions. These include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The U. S. says these countries have problems like corruption and unreliable documents. This makes it hard to check who is entering the country. The government also points to high visa overstay rates and countries that refuse to take back their citizens as reasons for the ban.Critics argue that the ban is unfair and not really about security. They say it targets people based on where they are from. Some groups are worried about Afghans who helped the U. S. during the war. The new rules remove a special visa for these people, making it harder for them to enter the U. S. Countries on the new list are reacting. Dominica says it is taking the issue seriously and will talk to U. S. officials. Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador says the matter is serious and wants more information. The U. S. has also made some changes to existing restrictions. Laos and Sierra Leone now face stricter rules. Turkmenistan, however, has improved enough to have some restrictions eased. The new rules for Palestinians are the strictest yet. The U. S. says terrorist groups operate in the West Bank and Gaza. It also says recent conflicts have made it harder to properly check people.