Appeals court keeps Trump waiting

TT, Washington, Feb. 5 (Reuters): The Trump administration's immigration order was in legal limbo today after an appeals court denied the Department of Justice's request to restore the ban immediately.

The overnight ruling dealt a further setback to President Donald Trump, who has denounced the judge in Seattle who blocked his executive order on Friday. In tweets and comments to reporters, the President has insisted he will get the ban reinstated.

In a brief order, the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the government's request for an immediate administrative stay on the judge's ruling had been denied. It was awaiting further submissions from the states of Washington and Minnesota on Sunday, and from the government on Monday.

The legal uncertainty has created what may be a short-lived opportunity for travellers from the seven affected countries to get into the US. "This is the first time I try to travel to America. We were booked to travel next week but decided to bring it forward after we heard (of the court order)," said a Yemeni woman, recently married to a US citizen, who boarded a plane from Cairo to Turkey on Sunday to connect with a US-bound flight. She declined to be named for fear it could complicate her entry to the US.

The Justice Department's appeal said the state of Washington lacked the standing to challenge the order and denied that it "favours Christians at the expense of Muslims".