LOS ANGELES, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A federal judge in the U.S. state of Hawaii on Thursday denied a motion filed by the state seeking to clarify the definition of a "bona fide" relationship mentioned in President Donald Trump's partially reinstated travel ban.
The travel ban restricted people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, unless they can prove a "bona fide" relationship with close relatives or entities like a school or business in the United States.
The six countries are Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen.
The Supreme Court gave a partial green light to the Trump administration's travel ban on June 27, which does not consider grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces or nephews as "bona fide" relatives.
The state of Hawaii challenged the definition, arguing that it is wrong to exclude these relations from the list of close family members.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson said in a ruling on Thursday in Honolulu that the Supreme Court was the proper venue to deal with the issue.
The adjusted version of Trump's controversial and harshly criticized temporary travel ban came after more than five months since it was first announced on Jan. 27, which instantly sparked shock and anger all over the world.
Trump called the first version of the travel restriction a counter-terrorism measure which banned visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries including Iraq.
The ban was later blocked nationwide by U.S. District Judge James Robart on Feb. 5, and became the subject of a long-term legal battle in the country.
