H.R. 924: NO BAN Act

The NO BAN Act rewrites a key part of immigration law that presidents have used to block entry for broad groups of people. Right now, that authority is open-ended. H.R. 924 would put new conditions around it.

Any future travel ban would have to address specific and credible facts about a security, public safety, human rights, democracy, or international stability concern. The Secretary of State, working with Homeland Security, would have to make that finding before the president acts. Restrictions would have to use the least restrictive means, state how long they last, and consider waivers — with a built-in presumption that family-based and humanitarian waivers should be granted.

Within 48 hours of imposing a ban, the administration would have to brief Congress and submit a written report explaining what it did, why, how many people are affected, and what legal authority it used. Miss that deadline and the ban automatically ends. After that, agencies must keep publishing 30-day reports in the Federal Register — also under threat of automatic termination.

The bill also expands the immigration system's nondiscrimination rule. The protection would apply not just to immigrant visas, but also to nonimmigrant visas, entry decisions, and other immigration benefits. Religion explicitly joins nationality, place of birth, and sex as a protected category.

People in the U.S. harmed by a violation would be able to sue in federal court for declaratory or injunctive relief. The bill expressly allows those cases to proceed as class actions.

H.R. 924 would also require a one-time backwards-looking report on Presidential Proclamations 9645, 9822, and 9983 and Executive Orders 13769, 13780, and 13815 — the Trump-era travel bans — within 90 days of enactment, including country-by-country visa application, approval, denial, and waiver data.