WASHINGTON: Most US visa applicants who were denied because of former president Donald Trump’s travel ban on 13 mostly Muslim-majority and African countries can seek new decisions or submit new applications, the State Department said on Monday. President Joe Biden overturned Trump’s so-called Muslim ban on Jan 20, his first day in office, calling it “a stain on our national conscience” in his proclamation. State Department spokesman Ned Price said applicants who were refused visas prior to Jan 20, 2020, must submit new applications and pay a new application fee. Those who were denied on or after Jan 20, 2020, may seek reconsideration without re-submitting their applications and do not have to pay additional fees, Price said. Since December 2017, after a revised version of the original travel ban was upheld by the US Supreme Court, some 40,000 people have been barred from entering the US under the ban, according to State Department data.

Source: Libya Today March 09, 2021 01:41 UTC