The US federal judge who halted President Donald Trump's revised ban on refugee resettlement and arrivals of people from six mainly Muslim countries has extended his order blocking its implementation, AFP reports.

US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii said Wednesday, March 29 he had turned his original temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction.

Such an injunction generally has no set expiration date, said Hawaii state Attorney General Doug Chin.

This means Trump will be barred from enforcing the ban while it is contested in court.

The US Justice Department is expected to appeal to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling.

Watson's first order suspending enforcement of Trump's amended ban was issued March 15 -- a day before the measure was to go into effect.

Trump's first ban and the revised one have both been criticized as amounting to a ban on entry of Muslims into the US.