Noman Sabit: As we head into the New Year, many of us may have set a resolution to travel more in 2026. However, before you start your search for flights and book tickets, you should be aware of all of the countries that are canceling visas for American travelers.
Travel in 2026 has already had a rocky start. Thousands of flights to and from the Caribbean were canceled over the weekend due to potential conflict in Venezuela, and passengers were reported being left stranded. And before that, in mid-December, President Donald Trump and his administration announced that they would expand their travel ban to include additional countries, as well as implement new restrictions for individuals traveling from other countries.
As of January 2026, a total of 39 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are facing either a full travel ban or restrictions on certain types of visas for entry into the U.S. It comes as a US territory wants to ditch America and rejoin Spain. In the White House’s statement regarding this move to expand its travel bans and restrictions, it argued, “It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security and public safety, incite hate crimes, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.” What countries are canceling visas for Americans?
On Dec. 26, Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, announced that it was “completely and permanently prohibiting the issuance of visas to all U.S. citizens and indefinitely banning entry to its territory for nationals of the United States.”
Similarly, Chad, a country located in Central Africa, announced that it was acting upon “principles of reciprocity and suspend[ing] the granting of visas to citizens of the United States of America.” This announcement came after it was listed as one of the countries completely banned from entering the U.S. last June.
Two other countries in West Africa — Burkina Faso and Mali — have recently followed suit, imposing full visa bans on U.S. citizens in retaliation for Trump’s ban on U.S. visas for their citizens. Burkina Faso announced that it is enforcing “equivalent visa measures to citizens of the United States of America.” The country continued to say that it “remains committed to mutual respect, the sovereign equality of States, and the principle of reciprocity in its international relations.”
Mali, which shares a southwestern border with Burkina Faso, also implemented a reciprocal travel ban against the U.S. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement that U.S. citizens would be subject to “the same conditions and requirements as those imposed by the American authorities on Malian citizens entering the United States.”
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