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Monday, June 9, 2025
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Lao Students in Limbo as US Freezes Visas, Tightens Travel Rules

This Week

The Laotian Times/AFP – President Donald Trump’s sweeping new travel ban came into effect on 9 June immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the United States and reviving a divisive measure from his first term.

The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries.

Laos has been included on the list of countries subject to a partial travel ban, raising concerns over complications for Lao citizens seeking entry into the United States, including for educational purposes. 

As a result, Lao students hoping to study in the US now face growing uncertainty.

This lack of clarity follows another executive order from President Trump halting the issuance of student visas worldwide. 

The directive includes a temporary suspension of visa interviews as the administration expands social media vetting for student and foreign exchange visa applicants.

The US Embassy in Vientiane has not immediately responded to The Laotian Times’ requests for clarification.

Currently, Lao citizens are not being issued new B-1 (business), B-2 (tourist), B1/B2 combination, F (Student), J (exchange visitor), M (vocational student) visas. However, work visas and some other nonimmigrant visa categories may still be available, but with reduced validity.

Lao Citizens Urged to Voluntarily Return to Laos or Face Consequences 

The new policy is part of a broader immigration crackdown, which also targets several universities that Trump claims have failed to curb antisemitism during recent pro-Palestinian protests on campuses.

In March, the Lao Embassy in the US, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos, issued an official notice urging Lao citizens who are illegally residing in the US to voluntarily return to Laos, citing potential risks of arrest and deportation.

Over 4,500 Lao nationals residing in the US illegally now face the prospect of being caught in the US immigration crackdown under the Trump administration’s new policies.

Travel Bans Come into Effect

Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya.

In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent “terrorist attack” on Jews in Colorado.

The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa.

That attack, Trump said, “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted” or who overstay their visas.

The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House.

Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed.

New countries could be added, Trump warned, “as threats emerge around the world.”

Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty.

“We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives… on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another,” she told AFP.

World Cup, Olympics, Diplomats Excluded

The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump’s order said.

Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that “the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law.”

US Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional.

“I know the pain that Trump’s cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand,” Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X.

“We will fight this ban with everything we have.”


© Agence France-Presse

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