US will halt issuing immigrant visas for dozens of countries
The visa pause, which will begin on Jan 21, is expected to hit family-based immigration hardest
[WASHINGTON] The US State Department will pause issuing immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, including Brazil, Somalia and Iran, targeting specifically foreigners who they say could require public assistance while living in the US.
The move applies only to people seeking to live and work permanently in the US, not tourists or temporary workers, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the order has not yet been released.
The administration has already imposed stricter vetting rules for foreigners and would-be residents over the past year, layering new restrictions onto a visa-screening system long considered among the most stringent in the world.
The visa pause, which will begin on Jan 21, is expected to hit family-based immigration hardest, affecting spouses, children and other immediate relatives of primarily US citizens who would otherwise be eligible for permanent residency.
The move is meant to end “the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people”, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. In a post on X, the department added it applies to nations “whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival”.
The administration’s claims that immigrants drain government resources run counter to studies from the Cato Institute, the American Immigration Council and other groups that have found immigrants use less benefits than US-born Americans.
Navigate Asia in
a new global order
Get the insights delivered to your inbox.
David Leopold, a Cleveland-based immigration lawyer and partner at Thompson Hine, questioned the need for a blanket pause, saying federal immigration law already requires extensive vetting to bar applicants likely to become a dependent on the welfare system.
“I’m not sure what the utility of banning immigrant and non-immigrant visas is – we already have extraordinary vetting programmes,” Leopold said, citing a century-old provision barring those likely to rely on public benefits. “The way the law is already written, it’s designed to prevent people who are going to be an economic burden on the country from coming in.”
Officials said that the pause does not apply to tourist or temporary work visas, suggesting the move should not disrupt vacations or the plans of hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors expected for this year’s World Cup who would be coming on tourist visas. Fox News Digital reported earlier Wednesday that the administration was planning the move.
SEE ALSO
Trump has singled out communities of immigrants from Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela, Mexico and elsewhere for years, often describing people from those countries in disparaging terms. Those moves have reached a new intensity in recent weeks amid a crackdown in Minnesota fuelled by accusations that Somalis there defrauded federal social safety net programmes.
Brazil’s inclusion in the latest visa pause stands out, as the country has not been usually grouped in countries targeted in broader immigration crackdowns. The Brazilian embassy in Washington said it’s not been formally notified of the decision or other details from the US government.
State Department data indicates that the US issued more than 600,000 immigrant visas in 2024, the vast majority of them to immediate relatives of US citizens or current green card holders. BLOOMBERG
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
