
US President Donald Trump's ban on citizens of seven countries entering the United States will be reinstated with changes, US officials said on Tuesday.
The new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries facing a temporary travel ban, after the Pentagon and State Department pointed out the country's key role in fighting ISIS. In addition, Syrian refugees will no longer be banned indefinitely.
Citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Suday, Syria, and Yemen will not be allowed to enter the US for a period of 90 days, anonymous officials said. There will be a general 120-day suspension of new refugee admissions, with no exceptions for religious minorities.
All existing visas will be honored.
Trump is expected to sign the executive order in the coming days.
"We will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep out those who would do us harm," Trump said during his first joint session with Congress.
The new order includes other changes as well. The officials said the 12-page document no longer singles out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban and instead includes them as part of a general, 120-day suspension of new refugee admissions.
On January 27, Trump issued an executive order banning all citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. That order was soon blocked by a federal judge, and an appeals court rejected Trump's request to resume the ban.