The US Supreme Court decided on Monday to allow parts of President Trump's travel ban to go into effect.
The ban, which prohibits people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days, is expected to take effect within days, but it will not apply to people who have a "bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States."
A "bona fide relationship" is considered to mean:
- "For individuals, a close familial relationship is required."
- "As for entities, the relationship must be formal, documented, and formed in the ordinary course, rather than for the purpose of evading" the order.
According to BBC News, this means a student registered at a US university, or a worker who had accepted an offer of employment in the US (or someone invited to, for example, deliver a lecture) would be allowed to enter, but anyone trying to engineer a connection with a US organisation would be banned.
For example, "a nonprofit group devoted to immigration issues may not contact foreign nationals from the designated countries, add them to client lists, and then secure their entry by claiming injury from their exclusion."
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the legality of the ban during its next term, which begins on 2nd October.
Click here to read the full court judgement.
(Sources: US Supreme Court, BBC News, CNN)
