‘Trump is deciding who is American’: how the new travel ban is tearing families apart

As six countries are added to the list of restrictions, Nigerian and Eritreans in the US say the ban is devastating their lives

It started out as a joyous day for Olumide. On 31 January, the 32-year-old Nigerian American learned in an email that the US was finally processing the visa applications of his wife and daughter in Nigeria.

Hours later, Donald Trump shattered their celebration, announcing that he was adding six countries to the travel ban, including Nigeria. The decision cuts off pathways to permanent US residency for Nigerians, throwing Olumide’s case into limbo at the final stage of the process. It leaves his wife and and 11-year-old girl stuck across an ocean with little hope of making it to the US.

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Trump administration unveils expanded travel ban

  • Nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria affected
  • Separate move will stop ‘diversity visas’ for Sudan and Tanzania

The Trump administration is expanding the reach of its controversial travel ban to six additional countries.

The United States will stop issuing visas that offer a path to residency to nationals from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar and Tanzania, said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, in a conference call on Friday.

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Syrian girl disfigured by bomb attack refused US visa under Trump travel ban

Exclusive: Marwa al-Shekh Ameen, 16, was denied a visa in December after doctors in Germany encouraged her to get treatment in the US

A 16-year-old Syrian refugee who was disfigured in a bomb attack on her home has been refused a visa to get medical treatment in the US because of Donald Trump’s travel ban, the Guardian can reveal.

Related: Thousands more migrant children separated under Trump than previously known

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