President Donald Trump has issued a new travel ban but this time Iraq has been excluded.
The new executive order comes into force on March 16 and places a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations – Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Green Card holders from the named countries will not be affected by the new order.
The order shuts down the US refugee programme for 120 days, giving the federal government time to develop ‘extreme vetting’ procedures.
But the new directive lifts a blanket ban on all Syrian refugees.
The previous order, which was announced without warning and then blocked by a federal court, caused confusion at airports and mass protests across the US.
US Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow said the US travel trade supports efforts to bolster national security and said the Trump administration ‘deserves some credit for the substantially more cautious and deliberate introduction of the revised executive order’.
"Cabinet officials were on the right track with public statements welcoming lawful visa holders into the US," he said.
"Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the administration fully seized the opportunity to differentiate between the potential security risks targeted by the order and the legitimate business and leisure visitors from abroad who support 15.1 million American jobs.
"Clearly this revised order is very encouraging news if you’re looking to come to the US from Iraq. The question remains whether the revised order did enough to mollify the prospective traveller from Canada, Europe, or elsewhere around the world who may have been put off by the initial travel ban. If undecided voters need to hear certain things to be motivated to get out and vote, then the same is true for undecided travellers."
Business travel body, the GBTA, agreed the revised ban is an improvement over the January 27 version as it is narrower in scope and is clearer about travellers who are not subject to the ban.
"The specific exemption for legal permanent residents, dual nationals and current visa holders will help mitigate confusion for the international travelling public," said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO.
"Any increased restrictions on passenger travel must be based in safety and security to ensure that the ability to travel is not impeded unnecessarily. It will remain a focus of the business travel industry to hold disruptions to a minimum, and we will continue to monitor the implementation of this ban closely."
He said the GBTA is currently polling its global membership to assess the impact on business travel of the revised executive order.
