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U.S. To Bar Middle Eastern Travelers With Distant U.S. Relatives: Reports


FILE PHOTO: A member of the Al Murisi family, Yemeni nationals who were denied entry into the U.S. last week because of the recent travel ban.
FILE PHOTO: A member of the Al Murisi family, Yemeni nationals who were denied entry into the U.S. last week because of the recent travel ban.

Travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries can enter the United States if they have a parent or brother in the country, but not if their relative is a grandparent or cousin under guidelines that go into effect on June 29, media reported.

The guidance issued late on June 28 carries out a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that allowed President Donald Trump to temporarily ban visitors from six Middle Eastern and North African countries and all refugees unless they can show they have a close relationship with an American or formal ties to a U.S. organization.

Reuters and AP reported that "close relatives" includes parents, spouses, children, sons and daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, step-sons, and step-daughters.

But it does not include grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-laws,sisters-in-law, fiancés, and any other "extended" family members, they said, citing a State Department cable distributed to all U.S. diplomatic posts.

The limitations affect people from Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya seeking visas in the next 90 days. Any ties to U.S. organizations "must be formal, documented, and formed in the ordinary course, rather than for the purpose of evading" the travel ban, the cable said.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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