[WASHINGTON] The U.S. State Department said it will pause immigrant visa processing for 75 countries starting Jan. 21 as the Trump administration moves to reassess what it describes as abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs.
A State Department official confirmed Wednesday that visa processing would be suspended for applicants from more than 70 countries, including Thailand, Brazil, Russia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait. China and Vietnam is not included in the list.
The pause will begin next week and continue indefinitely while the department reviews procedures and eligibility standards.
“The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries,” the official said, adding that the freeze would remain in place until authorities are satisfied that new immigrants will not place an undue burden on public resources.
In a post on social media, the department said the review is aimed at ensuring “that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” reflecting the administration’s broader push to tighten immigration controls and reframe immigration policy around economic self-sufficiency.
The move represents a significant expansion of Trump-era restrictions and is likely to affect migration flows from parts of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, while raising questions about diplomatic and economic fallout in some of the affected countries.
According to one widely shared draft list (based on a Fox News source), the affected countries reportedly include (but are not officially confirmed):
Afghanistan, **Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, **Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, **Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, **Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen
