Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal of Travel Ban Injunctions

On June 26, 2017, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the government’s appeals from the preliminary injunctions against the Executive Order travel ban upheld by the Fourth and Ninth Circuits, consolidated the Fourth and Ninth Circuit cases for argument, and ordered that the consolidated cases be scheduled to be heard during the Supreme Court’s October 2017 term. The Supreme Court partially upheld the Fourth and Ninth Circuit preliminary injunctions, ordering that the travel ban cannot be enforced against “foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States,” but may be enforced against all other foreign nationals on the banned countries list subject to Section 2(c). The Court clarified that the sort of "bona fide relationship" that qualifies for individuals is a "close familial relationship" to a person in the US. As for a "bona fide relationship" to a US entity, the Court indicated that the relationship must be “formal, documented, and formed in the ordinary course.” For a more detailed discussion of the travel ban, visit Business Immigration Under the Trump Administration.