Supreme Court Allows Travel Ban Exemption for Grandparents and Certain Other Relatives

(Updated July 20, 2017)

The Supreme Court denied the Trump Administration's motion to clarify its ruling on the March 6 travel ban executive order and allowed a Hawaii federal district court ruling that exempts certain family members from the ban. The ruling means that grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States are not subject to travel restrictions.

However, the Supreme Court stayed a portion of the lower court decision that enjoined the government from applying the ban to refugees who have a formal assurance of placement services from an agency within the United States, due to pending litigation in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the Administration could enforce the ban, but exempted persons with a bona fide claim to a relationship with a person or entity in the United States and prohibited the travel ban from being applied against foreign nationals with close family in the United States. Guidance from the Departments of Homeland Security and State originally took the position that grandparents, grandchildren, and other relatives were not close family members. The State of Hawaii asked the federal district court to block the agency’s narrow interpretation of the Supreme Court exemption.

What This Means for Travelers

The Supreme Court’s action maintains part a lower court injunction which expands the class of foreign nationals who are exempt from the ban, but stays the portion relating to some refugees pending further litigation with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on October 10, 2017. Fragomen is closely monitoring the travel ban and related litigation, and will provide updates as developments occur.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.