Since the beginning of his second term in the White House in January 2025, President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted African countries with various travel restrictions and in some cases outright bans from entering the U.S.
Citizens of countries such as Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Chad, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea have been included in the full U.S. travel ban put in place in June 2025 while those from Angola, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are prevented from applying for most business and student visas.
The overwhelming majority of countries whose citizens are now subject to pay a bond of between $5,000 and $15,000 to apply for a visitor’s visa for the U.S. are also located in Africa.
U.S. bans travel for those who visited Uganda, Congo and South Sudan
With another ebola virus outbreak spreading across several African countries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new 30-day travel ban on Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
While the latter two countries were already included in the full travel ban put in place last year, the sweeping restrictions bars not just citizens but anyone who is not American or a permanent resident who visited them in the last 21 days from coming into the U.S. for the next 30 days.
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“We are doing this to ensure that they are at the level of care that they can receive the either treatment or observation that that’s required,” Satish Pillai, CDC’s Ebola response manager, said to reporters on May 18.
Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus and, while rare and usually limited to certain parts of the world, is extremely fatal for those who catch it. The latest numbers show at least 513 reported cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo of which 131 died.
One of the key symptoms is an extremely high fever that eventually leads to internal bleeding.
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CDC “may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available”
One American physician who contracted the virus on a missionary trip to the country has now tested positive while at least six others are being monitored due to exposure. The first death from the virus in Uganda was also reported at the start of the week.
As the virus continues to spread, these numbers are expected to increase as the CDC also amps up monitoring of any those who may have been exposed through travel or contact with those returning home. Similar Ebola outbreaks took place in 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2025.
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“At this time, CDC assesses the immediate risk to the general U.S. public as low, but we will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” the agency said in a statement on the travel ban.
The ban has been put into place under Title 42, a law that allows for the ban of non-citizens from the U.S. for public health reasons, and could potentially be expanded to more countries or a longer period if the virus spreads.
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