Exclusive: Only 6 percent of those subject to Trump travel ban granted U.S. waivers

FILE PHOTO: International passengers arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport after the U.S. Supreme Court granted parts of the Trump administration's emergency request to put its travel ban into effect later in the week pending further judicial review, in Dulles, Virginia, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government granted waivers to just 6 percent of visa applicants subject to its travel ban on a handful of countries during the first 11 months of the ban, new data reviewed by Reuters shows.

Trump administration officials have pointed to the waiver process embedded in the travel ban as proof it was not motivated by animus towards Muslims, as critics have charged, but rather serves to protect the United States.