US Green Card Holders: Navigating 2026 Travel Restrictions and New Policies

Key Travel Policy Changes for 2026

• 💡 On December 16, 2025, Presidential Proclamation 10998 was issued, restricting entry for foreign nationals to protect US security, effective January 1, 2026.
• 🎯 This proclamation restricts entry for nationals of 39 countries, significantly expanding an earlier travel ban from June 2025.
• 📌 Full entry restrictions apply to 19 countries, suspending both immigrant and non-immigrant visa issuance, while partial restrictions affect 20 additional countries, suspending specific non-immigrant visas (B1, B2, FM, J).
• ✅ The travel ban primarily impacts nationals who are outside the United States on January 1, 2026, and do not hold a valid visa on that date; existing valid visas are not revoked.

Green Card Holders: Your Travel Rights

• 🚀 Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) are explicitly exempt from the full or partial travel restrictions, regardless of their nationality.
• ✈️ If you hold a valid green card, you can continue to travel internationally and re-enter the US, even if you are a national of one of the 39 restricted countries.
• ⚠️ A separate USCIS processing pause affects pending green card, citizenship, or asylum applications from 19 countries, placing them on hold for additional review, but this is not a travel restriction.
• biometric_data Starting December 26, 2025, all non-US citizens, including green card holders, are subject to new biometric entry-exit requirements, involving photographs and fingerprints at border crossings.

Impact on Visa Applicants and Other Nationals

• 🚫 For nationals of the 39 affected countries, obtaining new visas will be extremely difficult or impossible during the restriction period, though existing valid visas remain usable.
• 🛂 Dual nationals may be able to avoid restrictions by traveling on a passport from a non-restricted country.
• ❌ The December 2025 proclamation eliminates prior exemptions for immediate relatives (spouses, minor children, parents) of US citizens from restricted countries if they are outside the US without a valid visa.

Actionable Steps and Official Resources

• ✅ Current green card holders should verify card validity, update their USCIS address, gather documentation of US ties for travel, and be prepared for potential delays and biometric collection at ports of entry.
• 🔍 For those with pending green card applications, regularly check the USCIS website for case status updates and consider consulting an immigration attorney.
• 💬 It is crucial to verify information from official sources like WhiteHouse.gov, Travel.State.gov, USCIS.gov, and CBP.gov, rather than relying on social media or secondhand information.
• ⚖️ Green card holders have the right to return to the United States and to due process; do not sign documents relinquishing status without legal counsel.