Which countries are on pause
Proclamation 10998 was signed on 16 December 2025 and took effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 1 January 2026. It sorts countries into two lists. For a student, both lists mean the same thing: no new F, M or J visa, unless one of the exceptions below applies. The lists go by nationality, not by where you were born or where you live.
| List | Countries | Visas suspended |
|---|---|---|
| Full suspension, 19 countries | Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen | All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, student visas included |
| Full suspension | Travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority | All immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, student visas included |
| Partial suspension, 19 countries | Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe | Immigrant visas, B-1 and B-2 visitor visas, and F, M and J student and exchange visas |
Twelve of the full-suspension countries and four of the partial ones (Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela) were already restricted by Proclamation 10949 of June 2025. Laos and Sierra Leone moved from the partial list to the full one.
Embassy pages speak of 39 countries: the 38 above plus Turkmenistan, whose immigrant visas stay suspended. Proclamation 10998 lifted Turkmenistan's suspension of B, F, M and J visas, so its students are not covered.
Who is not affected
Students who already held a valid visa
The proclamation applies only to nationals who were outside the US on 1 January 2026 and did not hold a valid visa on that date. No visa issued before then is revoked under it. On 23 February 2026, the US Mission Nigeria said the same for students on its X account: Nigerian students and exchange participants with currently valid F-1 and J-1 visas are not affected.
Exempt does not mean free of risk. Yale's international office advises students from the listed countries to avoid international travel unless absolutely necessary, and warns that they may be unable to get visas or return to the US from abroad. Cornell's gives the same advice even to students who hold a valid visa, because of anticipated difficulties at the border.
The exceptions the proclamation lists
Section 6(b) of the proclamation exempts six groups:
- lawful permanent residents of the US;
- dual nationals travelling on a passport from a country not on the lists;
- holders of diplomatic, official and international organization visas (A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1 to G-4, NATO-1 to NATO-6);
- athletes and team members, with coaches, support staff and immediate relatives, travelling for the World Cup, the Olympics or another major sporting event chosen by the Secretary of State;
- Special Immigrant Visas for US government employees;
- immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran.
It also does not apply to people the US has granted asylum, or to refugees already admitted. Beyond these groups, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant an exception case by case when a person's travel would serve a US national interest, and the Attorney General may do so for a critical national interest involving the Department of Justice. None of the six groups is a student category, and the case-by-case exceptions are at the officials' discretion: the proclamation does not say how to request one. Ask the embassy before you count on any exception.
Dual nationals
If you also hold a passport from a country not on the lists, the exception covers you when you apply and travel on that passport. Brown University, for example, says I-20 issuance may proceed for students who can present such a passport. You apply where the normal F-1 rules send you, at an embassy or consulate in your country of nationality or residence, as the F-1 visa guide explains.
What changed after June 2026
A court struck down four USCIS policies
On 5 June 2026, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down four USCIS policies in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS: the Global Asylum Hold Policy, the Benefits Hold Policy, the Comprehensive Re-Review Policy and the Country-Specific Factors Policy. Since late 2025, they had held up decisions on applications that people from the travel ban countries filed with USCIS, such as work permits, green cards and citizenship. The court entered final judgment on 11 June, and USCIS said on 12 June that it would follow the order pending possible further review.
The ruling is about USCIS, the agency that decides applications from people already in the US. It did not strike down the proclamation, which restricts entry from abroad. The court drew that line itself: the law that lets the President restrict entry does not let the government restrict immigration benefits, especially for people already in the country. The US embassy pages for Nigeria and Angola, both updated on 2 October 2026, still say that student visa issuance is suspended.
The appeals court paused part of the ruling
On 14 August 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit paused, while the government's appeal goes on, the part of the judgment that struck down the re-review of benefits already approved. It refused to pause the rest.
Nigeria: routine visas only in Lagos
Since 1 August 2026, the US Embassy in Abuja no longer processes routine visa applications. Routine visa services are available only at the US Consulate General in Lagos, and an unused, still-valid visa fee receipt can be used to book there. The change is part of a wider one: the State Department ended routine visa services at Abuja and 24 other posts in Sub-Saharan Africa and moved them to regional hubs. If you live elsewhere in the region, check your embassy's visa page for your hub.
The country lists: no change found
As of 4 October 2026, no change to the two lists or to the student visa suspension was found. Neither the Federal Register nor the White House list of presidential actions shows a proclamation amending Proclamation 10998, and the embassy pages for Nigeria and Angola still describe the suspension. The proclamation tells the Secretary of State to report every 180 days on whether each restriction should be continued, ended, changed or added to, so check the embassy page again before each step.
What you can still do
Apply to US colleges
Applying still works. Brown University says its admissions decisions are not based on whether a student might be affected by a travel ban, and Minnesota State University, Mankato tells applicants from listed countries that they can still apply and be admitted. On the visa side, the US Mission Nigeria says applicants covered by the proclamation may still submit visa applications and attend interviews, but they may be ineligible for a visa or for entry. The dates for fall 2027 are in the timeline guide.
Ask each college how it handles admits from your country
Each college decides how long it waits, whether you can defer and whether you can start online, and the answers differ:
- Brown University (page updated 1 February 2026): for fall 2026, the restrictions had to be lifted by 31 May 2026 for Brown to issue the I-20 or DS-2019. It issues them anyway to dual nationals with an unaffected passport, to students already in the US who transfer or change status there, and to students with an F-1 or J-1 visa issued before 1 January 2026. It sends deferral questions to the admissions office and does not expect students to be able to start online from abroad. The page gives no date for fall 2027.
- Minnesota State University, Mankato: if you cannot get a visa, you may be able to defer and start later. A deferral of one or two semesters usually needs no new application, and the university says it will try to waive the application fee for students who defer because of visa problems. Online study may be possible, depending on the program.
Questions to put to each college in writing:
- Will you issue my I-20 while my country is on the list, and by what date must the restriction end? The I-20 guide explains what the college needs from you first.
- Can I defer, for how long, and do I need to apply again?
- Can I start online from home?
- Is the enrollment deposit refunded if my visa is not issued?
Check before you pay
The US visa application fee (MRV), US$185 for a student visa, is not refunded: the US Mission Nigeria says it must be paid whether a visa is issued or not. The other fees are in the F-1 visa guide. College deposits vary. Central Michigan University charges international students a non-refundable enrollment deposit of US$2,000, but only once they have their visa. Before you pay any fee or deposit, check your country's status on the embassy's visa page and ask the college whether the deposit comes back if your visa is not issued.
Before you decide: who to ask
This guide is not legal advice. Rules can change without notice, and your case may differ from the general rule. Confirm your situation with the US embassy or consulate where you would apply, and with the international student office of each college that admits you. For a legal question about your own case, ask for a qualified immigration attorney: Yale's international office, for example, refers students to one.