# List of people banned from entering the United States

The following is a list of notable people who are or were barred from entering the United States. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) handles deportation in the United States, often in conjunction with advice from the U.S. Department of State. Such bans are often temporary, depending on the circumstances of each case; however, anyone previously deported or denaturalized is automatically barred from re-entering the United States without a waiver issued by the U.S. Department of State.

## Currently banned

| Individual | Nationality | Occupation | Reason(s) for ban |
| Hamid Aboutalebi | Iran | Diplomat and envoy to the United Nations | Played a role as a translator for the militants who stormed the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 American citizens hostage for 444 days. |
| Tareck El Aissami | Venezuela | Politician and former Vice President of Venezuela (2017-2018) | Allegations of major drug trafficking and ties to Hezbollah. |
| Arnoldo Alemán | Nicaragua | 81st President of Nicaragua (1997-2002) | Political corruption scandals. |
| Hussein Arnous | Syria | 68th Prime Minister of Syria (2020-2024) | Continuous support for the Assad regime. |
| Julian Assange | Australia | Co-founder of WikiLeaks | Pleaded guilty for violating the Espionage Act. |
| Shaun Attwood | United Kingdom | Former ecstasy distributor turned YouTuber | After serving two years in Maricopa County Jail prior to sentencing, Attwood pleaded guilty for a sentence of nine and a half years, and served the balance of his sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections. Banned from entering the United States for life following his return to the United Kingdom. |
| Sali Berisha | Albania | 2nd President of Albania (1992-1997) and 32nd Prime Minister of Albania (2005-2013) | Involved in significant corruption, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, as well as enriching political allies and family members at the expense of the Albanian public. |
| José Bové | France | Farmer and anti-globalist activist | Past prosecutions for "moral crimes". |
| Abdalá Bucaram | Ecuador | 38th President of Ecuador (1996-1997) | "Involvement in significant corruption, including misappropriation of public funds, accepting bribes, and interfering with public processes." |
| Roberto Sandoval Castañeda | Mexico | Former Governor of Nayarit | Allegations of collaborating with drug dealers. |
| Raúl Castro | Cuba | Former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (2011-2021); brother of Fidel Castro | Human rights violations and support for Nicolas Maduro's regime. |
| Rafael Correa | Ecuador | 45th President of Ecuador (2007-2017) | Corruption; "...accepting bribes, including through political contributions, in exchange for granting favorable government contracts." |
| Pete Doherty | United Kingdom | Singer | Drug-related arrests and convictions in the United Kingdom; denied entry in June 2010 after spending 10 hours in detention in New York's JFK Airport, despite having a visa. |
| Isabel dos Santos | Angola | Businesswoman and daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos | "Significant corruption by misappropriating public funds for her personal benefit." |
| Tom Doshi | Albania | Former member of Albanian Parliament (2005-2021) | Allegations of significant corruption. |
| Liviu Dragnea | Romania | Politician and former President of the Chamber of Deputies (2016-2019) | Involvement in significant corruption. |
| Daniil Frolkin | Russia | Military officer | Gross violations of human rights during the Bucha massacre. |
| Tyson Fury | United Kingdom | Professional boxer | Connections to the Kinahan crime family. |
| Alejandro Giammattei | Guatemala | 51st President of Guatemala (2020-2024) | Allegations of “involvement in significant corruption” during his presidency, namely "accepting bribes in exchange for the performance of his public functions". |
| Zhu Hailun | China | Retired politician | Involvement in the persecution of Uyghurs in China. |
| Min Aung Hlaing | Myanmar | Head of Burmese military junta (2021–present) | Involvement in the Rohingya genocide. |
| Gabriel Escarrer Jaume | Spain | Businessman & CEO of Meliá Hotels International | Having business interests in Cuba. |
| Carrie Johnson | United Kingdom | Wife of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, media consultant | Visiting Somaliland as an independent country, which the United States does not recognize (viewing it as part of Somalia). Applicants under the electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA) visa waiver programme, which allows Britons to spend up to 90 days in the US, are asked whether they have visited Somalia since March 2011. |
| Abdel Rahman Jumma | Sudan | Rapid Support Forces commander | Ordering the assassination of Khamis Abakar, governor of West Darfur state during the War in Sudan (2023). |
| Ramzan Kadyrov | Russia | Head of the Chechen Republic (2007–present) | Violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killings. |
| Daniel Kinahan | Ireland | Boxing promoter and crime boss | Suspected of involvement in organized crime. |
| Ihor Kolomoyskyi | Cyprus Israel | Former Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and businessman | Corruption and being a "threat to the Ukrainian public's faith in democratic institutions". |
| Andrew Krakouer | Australia | Former Australian rules footballer | Prior convictions relating to assault. |
| Grigory Leps | Russia | Singer-songwriter | Alleged connections to the Brothers' Circle. |
| Adriatik Llalla | Albania | General Prosecutor of the Republic of Albania (2012-2017) | Involvement in significant corruption. |
| Paul Makonda | Tanzania | Regional Commissioner of ARUSHA | "...involvement in gross violations of human rights, which include the flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons." |
| Nahum Manbar | Israel | Businessman | Accused of selling components for mustard gas and nerve gas to Iran in defiance of a US embargo. |
| Liza Maza | Philippines | Activist, politician | Accused the United States federal government of human rights violations, was due to testify at a tribunal in Washington, D.C. |
| Bernadette Devlin McAliskey | United Kingdom | Independent Republican activist, UK Member of Parliament | Involvement with the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). |
| Thierry Meyssan | France | Journalist, conspiracy theorist, and political activist | Active promotion of misinformation about the United States. |
| Ibrahim Mousawi | Lebanon | Journalist and spokesman for Hezbollah | Links with Hezbollah. |
| Azatbek Omurbekov | Russia | Military officer | Gross violations of human rights during the Bucha massacre. |
| Daniel Ortega | Nicaragua | President of Nicaragua (2007–present) | Repression of political opponents during the 2018–2022 Nicaraguan protests, reports of human rights abuses, and committing electoral fraud. |
| Ed Ou | Canada | Photojournalist | Name matches a "person of interest" on an unspecified U.S. federal law enforcement watch list. |
| Bilal Philips | Canada | Islamic scholar | Alleged links to terrorism and seeming to condone suicide bombers. |
| Vlad Plahotniuc | Moldova | Businessman and former member of Parliament | Involvement in significant corruption. |
| Marian Price | United Kingdom | Former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer | Terrorist activities, including involvement in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing. |
| Chen Quanguo | China | Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang (2016-2021) | Involvement in the persecution of Uyghurs in China. |
| Tarek William Saab | Venezuela | Politician and lawyer | Links with international terrorist organizations and subversive groups. |
| Martin Sellner | Austria | Neo-Nazi, Neue Rechte and Identitarian activist | Links to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. |
| Shavendra Silva | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Army officer | Alleged war crimes in the Sri Lankan civil war. |
| Mike Sonko | Kenya | Second governor of Nairobi County (2017-2020) | Involvement in significant corruption. |
| John Stewart | United Kingdom | Environmental campaigner | Undisclosed reasons believed to be linked with his campaigning. |
| Mark Thatcher | United Kingdom | Businessman and son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher | Conviction in South Africa related to a coup plot. |
| Bovi Ugboma | Nigeria | Comedian | Visa issues. |
| Amos Wako | Kenya | 4th Attorney General of Kenya (1991-2011) | Allegations of "significant" corruption. |
| Wiranto | Indonesia | 5th Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council (since 2019) | Human rights violations and suspected war crimes. |
| Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (a.k.a. Tommy Robinson) | United Kingdom | Far-right activist | Robinson pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to using someone else's passport to travel to the United States in September 2012, and was sentenced in January 2013 to 10 months' imprisonment. |

## Previously banned

| Individual | Nationality | Occupation | Reason(s) for ban | Ban lifted |
| Lily Allen | United Kingdom | Singer | Criminal record, including assault charges on paparazzi. | 2008 |
| Gerry Adams | United Kingdom | Politician, Irish republican president of Sinn Féin | Refusing to renounce violence during The Troubles. | January 1994; President Bill Clinton, on recommendation from congressional Democrats and the National Security Council (despite opposition from the British government and the State Department), granted Adams a 48-hour visa to attend a conference in New York City to negotiate an IRA truce during the peace process. Adams would visit the U.S. on several further occasions. |
| Mathangi Arulpragasam (a.k.a. M.I.A.) | United Kingdom | Rapper | Supporting the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), where her father was one of the founders. | 2017 |
| Shiro Azuma | Japan | Soldier | Participation in the Nanjing Massacre. | 2006 (deceased) |
| Fulgencio Batista | Cuba | Military officer and politician | Human rights violations and committing electoral fraud. | 1973 (deceased) |
| Mike Bailey | Canada | Professional wrestler | Attempted to enter the country without the correct working visa in place. | 2022 |
| Conrad Black | Canada  United Kingdom | Publisher and businessman | Mail fraud and obstruction of justice convictions. | 2019, after President Donald Trump granted him a presidential pardon. |
| Kurt Blome | West Germany | Nazi microbiologist and scientist | Involvement with human experimentation in Nazi Germany. | 1969 (deceased) |
| Shane Bunting (a.k.a. Madchild) | Canada | Rapper | Alleged links to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. | 2013 |
| Hortensia Bussi de Allende | Chile | Former First Lady of Chile, widow of Salvador Allende | Affiliation with Allende and opposition to Chilean military dictatorship; barred from entering in 1983 after an invitation by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco on the basis that "her entry to make various public appearances and speeches has been determined to be prejudicial to U.S. interests". | 2009 (deceased) |
| V. Gordon Childe | Australia | Archaeologist | Having Marxist beliefs. | 1957 (deceased) |
| Novak Djokovic | Serbia | Professional tennis player | Not meeting COVID-19 entry requirements, while not being vaccinated for COVID-19. Vaccine waiver request was denied by Department of Homeland Security. | 2023 |
| Máire Drumm | Ireland | Vice-President of Sinn Féin | Criminal convictions and having connections with the IRA. | 1976 (deceased) |
| Daniel Dumile (a.k.a. MF Doom) | United Kingdom | Rapper | Couldn’t or didn’t prove that he was living in the U.S. prior to 1972, despite records showing he arrived in the country prior to 1972. | 2020 (deceased) |
| Kyle Falconer | United Kingdom | Lead singer for The View | Drug-related conviction in the United Kingdom. | 2011 |
| Fernando Gabeira | Brazil | Former federal deputy for the State of Rio de Janeiro (1995-2011) | Considered a terrorist for his role in the kidnapping of American ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick. | 2009 |
| Dave Hilton Sr. | Canada | Boxer | 1961 conviction for drunken driving and assault indictments. | 2023 (deceased) |
| Sebastian Horsley | United Kingdom | Artist and writer | Issues of moral turpitude. | 2010 (deceased) |
| Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens) | United Kingdom | Singer | Apparent links to terrorism. | 2006 |
| Joseph Kobzon | Russia | Singer | Allegedly having close associations with drug trafficking, illicit arms trading, and Russian mafia in Moscow. | 2018 (deceased) |
| Nigella Lawson | United Kingdom | Chef, author and TV host of The Taste | Drug-related admission in the United Kingdom. | 2014 |
| Georg Leibbrandt | West Germany | Nazi German bureaucrat and diplomat | Participation in the Holocaust. | 1982 (deceased) |
| Nelson Mandela | South Africa | Revolutionary, anti-apartheid dissident, leader of African National Congress, later first post-apartheid President of South Africa | Banned after the apartheid regime of South Africa designated the ANC as a terrorist organization in 1960, requiring Mandela to receive a waiver from the U.S. Secretary of State to visit the United States. | 2008, after President George W. Bush signed an act to formally lift it. |
| Diego Maradona | Argentina | Former soccer player and coach | Various criminal convictions in Italy, Argentina, Croatia and other countries. | 2020 (deceased) |
| Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Novelist and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1982. | Banned from the U.S. due to his ties to the Colombian Communist Party in the 1950s and later for his fondness for Fidel Castro. | 1995, by President Bill Clinton, who happened to be an admirer of the writer and would dine with him in 1996. |
| Nicole Matthews | Canada | Professional wrestler | Caught using a travel visa instead of a work visa to work independent shows. | 2023 |
| Narendra Modi | India | Former Chief Minister of Gujarat and current Prime Minister of India | Involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots; banned in 2005. | 2014, due to diplomatic status per United Nations policy when elected Prime Minister of India. Hosted as a state guest by the United States in 2023. |
| Farley Mowat | Canada | Writer and environmentalist | Having communist sympathies. | 1990 |
| Amjad Nasser | Jordan | Journalist and poet | Undisclosed reasons. | 2019 (deceased) |
| Antonio Negri | Italy | Marxist philosopher | Criminal charges and involvement in the Moro case. | 2023 (deceased) |
| George O'Dowd (a.k.a. Boy George) | United Kingdom | Singer and fashion designer | Criminal convictions in the United States in 2006 and the United Kingdom in 2008. | 2014 |
| Alexi Ogando | Dominican Republic | Major League Baseball player (relief pitcher) | Involvement in an immigration marriage fraud ring in the Dominican Republic between 2004-2005. | 2010 |
| Pogo | Australia | Electronic music artist/producer | Did not have necessary work visa. | 2021 |
| Tariq Ramadan | Switzerland | Academic, educator and author (Western Muslims and the Future of Islam) | Gave money to Hamas. | 2010 |
| Hans Joachim Sewering | Germany | Doctor and former member of the SS | Accused of sending more than 900 disabled patients to their deaths under the Nazi euthanasia program during the Holocaust. | 2010 (deceased) |
| Prabowo Subianto | Indonesia | President of Indonesia and retired army general | Alleged human rights abuses. | 2020 |
| Dobroslav Trnka | Slovakia | Lawyer | Corruption. | 2023 (deceased) |
| Ilija Trojanow | Bulgaria  Germany | Writer and publisher | Undisclosed reasons. | 2013 |
| Kurt Waldheim | Austria | Diplomat and politician, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and President of Austria (1986–1992) | Nazi affiliations and activities during World War II, deemed persona non grata. | 2007 (deceased) |
| Amy Winehouse | United Kingdom | Singer | Drug and assault convictions in the United Kingdom. | 2009 |