In this policy brief, we share with you the experiences of 25 families from Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Cuba. They represent countless children, spouses, and parents. They are fathers who have yet to meet their sons in person. They are wives who face gender apartheid who have lived as a de facto single parent for years. They are stuck in the follow-to-join asylee process due to 2025 travel bans.
Three Things You Should Know
- The Administration’s June 4 and December 16, 2025 travel bans unexpectedly impacted asylees who were seeking reunification with their spouses and children. This marked a departure from prior policy as these families were not subject to the first Trump Administration’s travel bans.
- Asylees who have spent years waiting for their asylum decisions and the reunification process have no way to see their families in person, indefinitely. Studies show that prolonged family separation can cause distress, trauma, and strife in family relations in asylee families.
- Even though family members’ travel to the United States will be ultimately barred, their processing continues, forcing families to make difficult decisions around traveling to interviews, financing travel and stay, and facing the risk of deportation while waiting.
On June 4, 2025, the Trump administration issued a travel ban suspending the entry of nationals from 19 countries. Unlike travel bans during the first Trump administration, this travel ban barred the entry of follow-to-join asylee families, many of whom have spent years apart under the stress of uncertainty. When we realized that follow-to-join families were impacted by the travel ban, USCRI Policy & Advocacy launched a survey in October 2025, due to the growing number of concerns from impacted individuals and our legal network. Families who were essentially approved were stuck in countries where they travelled for consular interviews, with no guarantee that they could stay, and no safe way to reenter their home country. Furthermore, the possibility of family reunification has faded away for families who are nationals of 39 countries impacted by the travel bans.
Background
Nationals of 19 countries are impacted by the June 4, 2025 travel ban, including Afghan nationals subject to a full entry suspension and Venezuelan and Cuban nationals subject to a partial entry suspension. Under Section 6(d), the White House stated that the travel ban would not “limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the CAT.” However, the carveout did not explicitly cover asylee family members who come through the follow-to-join process.
But travel ban proclamations have been silent on follow-to-join family members before. In the first Trump administration, travel ban proclamations contained almost the same language on the right to seek asylum and were also silent on family members. Accompanying State Department guidance on travel bans stated that follow-to-join family members were exempt and could enter the United States, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FAQs said the same.
In the second Trump administration, the block on follow-to-join asylee families was unexpected and virtually unannounced. There were no warning signs until it was too late for many families. After the June 4, 2025 travel ban went into effect on June 9, families who had completed the interview and were on the brink of reunification were denied the ability of travel with no explanation and no chance to appeal.
Human Impact of Family Separation
Asylees fled their countries for fear of persecution. They may have been extorted, threatened, or tortured. When they realize they are a target, they escape by any means available. In many instances, that means alone.
In the case of Afghanistan, the evacuation after the fall of Kabul was chaotic, and people who had worked for the U.S. military or the U.S.-backed government were in a race against the Taliban. Family members who were at higher risk of Taliban retaliation had to reach safety first, with the hope that they would eventually be reunited in safety in the future.
Asylees are profoundly affected by family separation, which may be compounded by feelings of guilt and shame for having left families behind, sometimes in unsafe situations or unstable areas. Asylees can apply for family reunification only after being granted asylum. Due to growing backlogs, asylees may have waited over nine years in asylum processing before having a chance to apply for family reunification.
In a qualitative study from Canada, asylees reported “being tormented daily by worry” over their family, who are in difficult country contexts. In a Danish study of refugee fathers, the risk of mental disorder increased as periods of family separation grew longer. The study found that fathers suffer through “double uncertainty,” or uncertainty about whether and when their asylum application will be approved. Parents with children miss out on early childhood events and development. Husbands and wives feel powerless when they cannot transform their concern for their spouse into action.
The mental toll is also felt by family members abroad. Generally, children under the age of 18 years old receive half of the follow-to-join asylee travel documents issued. While apart, children ask about their parents’ absence and may express feelings of abandonment. Spouses talk about the struggles of being the only parent present on a day-to-day basis. At least one family in the survey had a son who was suffering psychologically due to family separation and stress. Another family described that both spouses were suffering from PTSD and that the spouse abroad was suffering from depression and anxiety.
The Stories of 25 Families
USCRI Policy and Advocacy’s survey captured the stories of 25 families, including 23 Afghan families, one Venezuelan family, and one Cuban family. All of the families are impacted by the June 4, 2025 travel ban.
After their grant of asylum, asylees have two years to apply through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for their legal spouse and children under the age of 21 to join them in the United States . In many cultures and traditions, even though “family” extends beyond these relationships, asylees cannot reunify with other family members through this process. After USCIS processing, families must wait for USCIS to forward the case to the State Department. The survey respondents reported an average time of 108 days (median of 50 days) for USCIS to send the case to the State Department’s National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC contacts the U.S. embassy or consulate that will set up an interview with the approved family member(s). Interviews are usually the last step for families. If approved, the consular officer will provide a boarding foil, which allows the family member to travel to the United States. Once approved, families have to pay for their travel to the United States.
In many instances, families have to travel outside of their country for processing. At the start of the family reunification process, 22 families lived in the country of their nationality. Twelve Afghan families originally requested the interview to take place in Afghanistan, but that possibility ceased when the U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations on August 31, 2021. Ten families submitted requests to transfer their cases to another U.S. embassy or consulate. Even transfer requests are not easily resolved. In five instances, transfer requests were pending or not approved, despite the obvious need due to suspended U.S. ability to process such cases in Kabul. Reasons for the delay are rarely provided. Lack of transparency in the process adds to stress already felt by separated families.
For Afghan families, Pakistan and Tajikistan were commonly requested as interview locations. Pakistan used to be a popular choice for Afghans due to the proximity and ease of obtaining temporary visas. But in 2023, Pakistan authorities began efforts to deport and compel people to leave who lacked documentation, including Afghans who overstayed their temporary visas who were waiting for family reunification. In 2025 alone, one million Afghans were deported or driven out through this pressure campaign. A recent escalation of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict is putting more families in danger.
For families in processing, they face a distressing dilemma. Although entry to the United States is indefinitely paused, processing is not. Families that have interview dates scheduled have to weigh the benefits and risks of continuing. Do they travel to another country to get close to the finish line, knowing that they will not be able to travel to the United States? If they do, they may not be able to return safely to their country of origin. They may overstay their temporary visas, putting them at risk of deportation or detention. However, if they don’t and request to reschedule the interview, that presents another uncertainty of rescheduling backlogs.
Many of these families are facing dangers in their country of nationality and need to relocate for their safety well before the scheduled interview . Ten families requested relocation assistance from the State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) office. CARE was set up in 2021 to coordinate relocation cases, and families in the process of follow-to-join reunification were eligible for this life-saving support. The office was shut down in July 2025. None of the families in the survey who requested CARE assistance received it.
Eleven families in the survey completed the final step, the interview. Of those, five families were interviewed in June or July 2025, right as impacts of the travel ban were unfolding. At least eight families received heartbreaking news through a boilerplate letter:
“Dear Applicant:
This is to inform you that a consular officer found you ineligible under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation “Restricting the Entry of foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”. Today’s decision cannot be appealed.
Taking into account the provisions of the Proclamation, a National Interest Exception (NIE) will not be granted in your case.”
Outside of the survey, an attorney reported that a family received the same boilerplate letter dated before their interview. The U.S. Government’s decision was preordained.
The immediate concern for these families is whether they can stay in the country where they were interviewed. Each family has particular vulnerabilities. The Venezuelan family member who relocated to Colombia for processing is afraid to return to Venezuela due to the risk of harm. Two families reported medical conditions that required intensive care unavailable in their present country. Eight families stated they feared a risk of deportation to their country of origin. Five families eventually had to return to Afghanistan due to safety issues, the threat of deportation, or family responsibilities. All of the five families included a female spouse or child. In Afghanistan, women and girls face severe restrictions to personal liberty and are subject to laws that legalize slavery. Some of the families included members who have their own fear of persecution due to their gender, political opinion, or connection with the U.S. military or Afghan military and police.
Some families have yet to reach the interview stage, and they are keenly aware of the upcoming challenge. Three families are waiting for relocation assistance. One family who needs to transfer their case out of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan has not yet submitted the transfer request due to the expected cost of traveling to another country. Another legal representative shared that if an interview date is received, the family plans to request a delay.
What Lies Ahead
When the June 4, 2025 travel ban was announced, most immigration attorneys and advocates expected follow-to-join family members to be exempt. The grant of derivative asylee status is established in U.S. statutory law. The Immigration and Nationality Act states, “A spouse or child … of an alien who is granted asylum … may, if not otherwise eligible for asylum under this section, be granted the same status as the alien if accompanying, or following to join, such alien” (INA Section 208(b)(3)(A)).
After years of an intrusive and costly process, the families we interviewed and countless more were close to the finish line. Now, that finish line has disappeared indefinitely due to a policy choice by the U.S. Government. This choice is inconsistent with previous policy, is unprecedented, and in conflict with U.S. law. The follow-to-join process is already distressing and dangerous in normal times. The U.S. Government can and should relieve families from additional distress and danger by undoing this unnecessary policy choice.
We cannot expect individuals to live fulfilling and happy lives or feel completely safe in the United States while they are under forced separation from their family members. USCRI’s recommendation is that the U.S. Government follow U.S. law and allow follow-to-join family members of all nationalities the ability to pursue their case and to enter the United States after successfully completing all processing to be rejoined with their family members. The travel bans have never been and never should be a barrier to reunification for these families.
Special thanks to the legal practitioners who responded to USCRI Policy and Advocacy’s survey. Also, thanks to USCRI Legal Services and partners at African Communities Together (ACT), ANAR, Human Rights First, and other organizations who helped spread the word about the survey. None of this would be possible without asylees, their family members, and impacted individuals, who bravely share their stories and challenges with attorneys and advocates or without the legal professionals who listen and respond, even though all the odds are against their clients.
If you have any questions about the brief, reach out to [email protected].
