Tighter rules taking effect on travel to US from 6 nations

<p>The Trump administration has set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim nations and all refugees that require a &quot;close&quot; family or business tie to the United States.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 29, 2017, 3:12 PM

Updated 2,656 days ago

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After months of wrangling, tighter restrictions on travel to the U.S. from six mostly Muslim nations take effect Thursday evening after the Supreme Court gave its go-ahead for a limited version of President Donald Trump's plans for a ban. Under the new guidelines from the State Department, travelers from the 6 countries  must prove they have a parent, spouse, child, sibling, son-in-law or daughter-in-law already in the United States. If they can't, they will be banned for 90 days. 
Visas that have already been approved will not be revoked, and that should help avert the kind of chaos at airports around the world that surrounded an initial travel ban ordered shortly after Trump took office. In that case, some travelers with previously approved visas were kept off flights or barred entry on arrival in the U.S.
Muslim Americans who spoke with News 12 Long Island say the revised travel ban is disappointing.
"I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I think [President Trump] is just testing the water. Maybe has something up his sleeve that will come out in the next few months," says Nayyar Imam, of the Long Island Muslim Alliance. "Maybe more restrictions or maybe restrictions to Muslims living in this country. We are really cautiously sitting tight and watching every move."
Imam says he was planning a trip to Pakistan this summer to visit family members he hasn't seen in 10 years. Even though Pakistan is not one of the nation's list in the ban, he is not going on the trip over worries that things could change.
The travel ban will remain in effect until the Supreme Court makes a final decision, which could take months. 
AP Wire Services were used in this report