Mohammed Al Zabidi celebrated in 2017 when he discovered he had been chosen within the U.S. inexperienced card lottery, which picks individuals at random from a big pool of candidates. It was an opportunity to flee his war-torn homeland of Yemen and pursue his desires in the US.

“I gained! I gained!” Al Zabidi cheered. He borrowed cash to finance his journey, purchased garments for his new life in America and packed souvenirs for mates there. With no U.S. Embassy in Yemen, he made a grueling journey to Djibouti for his visa interview.

However there, after he had been initially accredited, his luck ran out: “CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE,” learn the daring, black, all-caps stamp on the unused visa in his passport with a Trump administration journey ban on a number of Muslim-majority nations, together with his, in place.

“My household pinned their hopes on me. … My mom wept; this saddened me essentially the most,” he mentioned.

President Joe Biden’s repeal of the ban on Inauguration Day introduced a sigh of reduction from residents within the nations lined by the measure. However amid the celebrations are tales of desires damaged, households separated, financial savings used up and milestones missed, from births to graduations. And for some, there are worries about whether or not their alternatives could also be gone eternally.

The lottery system requires winners be vetted and have their visas in hand by Sept. 30 of the 12 months they’re chosen, or they lose out. So Al Zabidi is left questioning whether or not he’ll ever make it to the States to begin working there and repay what he borrowed.

“Can we get our visas again? Can we be compensated?” he mentioned. “We do not know.”

Lots of these whose lives had been upended should now navigate questions on backlogs, paid charges and journey restrictions as a result of pandemic. Advocates for immigration and the rights of Muslims within the U.S. hail Biden’s resolution, but in addition level to the work forward to get lives again on observe and roll again the ban’s legacy.

“The ban superior the narrative that Muslims, Africans and different communities of coloration don’t belong in America, that we’re harmful threats,” mentioned Mary Bauer, authorized director of Muslim Advocates. “Ending the ban was simply step one in the direction of altering that narrative. Subsequent, the Biden administration should clear away different administrative immigration obstacles which are stopping households from reuniting.”

Greater than 40,000 had been refused visas due to the ban, in keeping with U.S. State Division figures. They included not solely lottery winners however individuals making an attempt to go to household, these touring for enterprise or private causes and college students accepted to U.S. universities.

Biden has commissioned a report to handle plenty of points, together with a proposal making certain reconsideration of immigrant visa functions denied as a result of ban. The proposal will contemplate whether or not to reopen denied functions. He additionally referred to as for a plan to expedite consideration of these functions.

Many who had been affected by the ban are additionally being blocked by an April order by former President Donald Trump halting the issuance of inexperienced playing cards to guard the U.S. labor market amid the pandemic.

Biden has not indicated whether or not he’ll elevate it, and ending the journey ban will imply little if he does not, mentioned Rafael Urena, a California lawyer.

“Most of my purchasers have no motive to rejoice as a result of they’re nonetheless caught,” Urena mentioned.

They embrace Mania Darbani, whose 71-year-old mom in Iran was denied a vacationer visa to go to her in Los Angeles. In current days she checked and was instructed she nonetheless cannot go, due to the pandemic order.

“I am so exhausted by this example,” mentioned Darbani, 36. “I wish to ask President Biden to elevate all journey bans and assist us. Simply please, please, assist us.”

Many individuals are involved about lengthy wait occasions for visas, mentioned Manar Waheed, senior legislative and advocacy counsel on the American Civil Liberties Union.

“There are embassies closed everywhere in the world due to COVID, so there’s that piece of it,” Waheed mentioned. “But additionally we have seen so many components of our immigration system stalled and really eviscerated by the Trump administration, so it’s about constructing these methods again up.”

What’s variously often called the “Muslim ban” or the “journey ban” was first imposed in 2017, then retooled amid authorized challenges, till a model was upheld by the Supreme Courtroom in 2018. It affected numerous classes of vacationers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and a few Venezuelan authorities officers and their households. In 2020, immigration curbs affecting a number of different nations had been added.

Trump and others have defended it on nationwide safety grounds, arguing it could make the U.S. safer from terrorism. Supporters of the coverage rejected the argument that it was rooted in anti-Muslim bias, saying it was aimed toward defending the nation.

In reversing the ban, the brand new administration says it intends as a substitute to strengthen information-sharing with different nations and apply a rigorous, individualized vetting system for visa candidates.

It is not clear whether or not it’s going to come too late for Anwar Alsaeedi, additionally from Yemen, who had hoped to supply his two youngsters with a greater future. He rejoiced in 2017 when he was picked for the lottery’s “variety visa” interview solely to be deemed ineligible as a result of ban.

“Our nation is embroiled in wars and crises and we have misplaced every thing,” Alsaeedi mentioned. “Making it to America is an enormous dream.”

Some whose desires had been dashed ended up looking for them elsewhere.

Moayed Kossa, a Syrian pharmacy college graduate who hoped to begin a cosmetics firm bearing his household identify, had landed a scholarship to check enterprise administration within the U.S. after his nation’s civil warfare drove the household to flee to Jordan. Simply days earlier than he was to journey, the U.S. Embassy in Amman summoned him and cancelled his visa.

He ended up learning in Italy as a substitute, and he is undecided if he’ll apply once more for a U.S. visa though his brother now lives there.

“It isn’t all the time simple,” Kossa mentioned, “to attempt to open a door that was closed.”

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Related Press author Julie Watson in San Diego contributed to this report.

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Related Press faith protection receives help from the Lilly Endowment by way of The Dialog U.S. The AP is solely answerable for this content material.