Works for any representative or senator, any district, any party. Copy everything in the box below into a document, fill in the [brackets], print, sign, and mail. Include your campaign email address from Step 1 as your contact. Enclose copies (never originals) of any case documents you have.
[Your Name]
[Your Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[your email(s) @endthetravelban.org] | [Phone]
[Date]
The Honorable [Representative's/Senator's Name]
[U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 / U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510]
RE: Proclamations 10949 and 10998 — Urge Oversight, Legislation, and Action for American Families, Workers, Students, and Refugees
Dear [Representative/Senator] [Last Name]:
I am your constituent writing about a policy that is personally harming my family. I am a U.S. citizen [OR: my [relationship] is a U.S. citizen / I am the owner of a business in your district]. My [wife/husband/son/daughter/mother/father/sister/brother/fiancé(e)/employee/student/self — describe] has been denied or indefinitely delayed a [immigrant visa / nonimmigrant visa / refugee admission / diversity visa / pending immigration benefit] — not because of anything in [his/her/my] case, but because of where [she/he/I] was born.
[Your story — 3–5 sentences. For example: "We filed the I-130 petition, paid the fees, completed the interview, and were approved in [month/year]. Now the visa cannot be issued. / My employer sponsored [name/role] in [month/year]; the position remains unfilled. / I was admitted to [university] for [semester] and cannot enroll." Add dates and hardship — missed weddings, births, funerals, medical care, tuition lost, jobs unfilled, financial loss.]
In June 2025, Presidential Proclamation 10949 imposed entry bans on nationals of 19 countries. In December 2025, Proclamation 10998 expanded the ban to 39 countries, effective January 1, 2026, and eliminated the categorical exceptions for immediate family immigrant visas that existed under the June proclamation. Families, employers, universities, refugees, and diversity visa winners who followed every rule are now in indefinite limbo.
The administration claims there is a "case-by-case" national interest exception process. Documents the State Department was forced to produce in litigation — Chikumba v. U.S. Department of State, No. 1:26-cv-00332 (D.D.C.), before Judge Amy Berman Jackson (public docket) — show this process exists only on paper, for three reasons:
1. The standard excludes virtually everyone. The Department's own guidance states that exceptions "should be used rarely," and lists travel that would "likely NOT qualify" — including travel to visit family members who are U.S. citizens, travel for education or employment, travel whose denial would cause financial or personal hardship, and assistance to a U.S. citizen family member. These exclusions eliminate substantially every category of travel for which applicants seek visas.
2. Decisions have been taken from the adjudicators Congress designated. The Department has directed that exception requests be decided by Chiefs of Mission — political appointees — rather than the consular officers to whom 8 U.S.C. § 1202(b) and (d) assign the review and adjudication of visa applications. Congress gave that authority to consular officers by statute; the executive branch has stripped it away.
3. The result is a rubber stamp, not a process. An impossible standard, applied by officials Congress never chose, means there is no meaningful exception process for the families, workers, students, refugees, and diversity visa winners affected by these proclamations.
I ask that you:
1. Hold oversight hearings on the human impact of Proclamations 10949 and 10998 — and invite affected Americans, workers, students, and refugees to testify. Subpoena the State Department's national interest exception guidance if it won't be produced voluntarily.
2. Confront the Department with its own documents: How can it claim a functioning exception process when its guidance excludes family, work, education, and hardship travel — and when decisions have been stripped from the consular officers Congress assigned to adjudicate visas under 8 U.S.C. § 1202?
3. Demand the numbers: How many NIE requests have been submitted since January 1, 2026, and how many granted? The guidance suggests the answer approaches zero for the categories Congress cares about most.
4. Pass legislation restoring categorical exceptions for immediate relatives of American citizens, which existed under the June proclamation and were deliberately removed.
5. Push USCIS to resume processing benefit requests for affected nationals.
6. Preserve DV-2026 eligibility for winners from affected countries
7. Demand transparency: how many people are affected, in every category, and what is the real process and timeline — not the process described in press releases.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
[District/City, State]
Enclosures: [see suggestions below]How to use this template
- Replace every [bracketed] item; delete any paragraph or fill-in option that doesn’t apply to you
- Keep your personal paragraph short — two or three sentences is all it needs
- If your member is a Republican, consider the Family or Competitiveness template
- your member is a Democrat, consider the Leadership template
- Print, sign in ink, and mail to the district office (from Step 2)
- Enclose copies of case documents — never originals
- Keep a copy of what you sent; when the office replies, send it to [email protected] (Step 5)
| Who’s affected | Story paragraph focus | Best Enclosore |
| Spouse / fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen | Marriage (or engagement), petition, interview, approval, time apart | Marriage certificate, I-130/NOA2 approval |
| Parent / child / sibling of a U.S. citizen | Relationship, petition timeline, missed events (births, illness, funerals) | Petition approval, birth certificate |
| Employer / employee | Sponsorship, role, how long the position has been unfilled, business impact | I-140/I-129 approval, employer support letter |
| Student / scholar | Admission, semester missed, tuition/deposit loss | Admission letter, I-20 |
| Diversity visa winner | Lottery win, deadline pressure (DV eligibility expires) | DV selection notice |
| Refugee / asylee-relative | Years in the pipeline, persecution faced | UNHCR or USCIS documentation |
| LPR petitioning a family member | Petitioner’s green card status, relative’s case status | I-130 approval, petitioner’s green card |