On November 13, 2017, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco partially granted an emergency request by the United States government to allow the travel ban issued by President Trump on September 24, 2017 to go into effect. This most recent travel ban had been temporarily enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.

The Appeals Court’s decision allows, at least temporarily, the ban on entry to the U.S. of people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen who do not have a qualifying family or institutional connection to the U.S. Those who do have a qualifying relationship are still eligible to come to the U.S. Grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins in the U.S. constitute qualifying familial relationships. Formal documented relationships to a U.S.-based entity, such as a university or employer in the U.S. may also qualify to exempt individuals from the travel ban.

The U.S. 9th Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case to block the ban on December 6th. An appeal to a similar injunction on the implementation of the travel ban is due to be heard by the 4th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA on December 8, 2017.

As this issue continues to evolve, we will provide further updates following breaking developments.