The US State Department is suspending immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, citing concerns that some may become dependent on public assistance.
According to a State Department memo, consular officers have been instructed to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The pause is due to begin on 21 January and will remain in place indefinitely while the review is conducted. Countries affected include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand and Yemen, among others.
Somalia has come under increased scrutiny following a large-scale fraud investigation in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered extensive abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programmes. Many of those implicated were Somali nationals or Somali-Americans.
In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to diplomatic posts worldwide instructed consular officers to apply stricter screening standards under the so-called “public charge” provision of US immigration law.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement.
“Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he added.
While the public charge provision has existed for decades, its enforcement has varied across administrations, with consular officers traditionally given broad discretion in how it is applied.
The memo states that exceptions to the pause will be “very limited” and granted only after applicants have cleared public charge assessments.
Under rules introduced in 2022 during the Biden administration, the scope of benefits considered under the public charge standard was narrowed, focusing mainly on cash assistance and long-term institutional care. Programmes such as food assistance, including SNAP and WIC, Medicaid and housing vouchers were excluded.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long allowed consular officers to deny visas on public charge grounds. In 2019, President Donald Trump expanded the definition to include a broader range of public benefits, a move that was challenged in court and partially blocked before being reversed by the Biden administration.
The full list of countries comprises of:
- 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
- Yemen
