As you have likely seen and heard in the news, yesterday the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to "stay" the Seattle district court's temporary restraining order that prevents the government from carrying out many sections of President Trump's Executive Order, including the "travel ban." Therefore, for the time being, nationals of the seven enumerated countries are legally permitted to travel to the United States as they were before the Executive Order was issued, and visas will continue to be issued.

However, these issues will continue to be litigated, as the Trump Administration is likely to appeal the Ninth Circuit's decision and the courts will be conducting a full judicial review of the Executive Order. Given the fluidity of the legal posture of the Executive Order, we continue to urge great caution by nationals of the seven enumerated countries when planning international travel.

In addition, we still do not know what, if any, indirect consequences of this situation—such as delays at ports and heightened scrutiny—could impact travelers.

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