The US is suspending the process for immigrant visas from 75 countries, the Department of State said on Wednesday.
Applicants from countries including Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Thailand and Brazil will be impacted by the pause, due to begin on 21 January, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration.
The Department of State said the pause will bring “an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people”.
The principal deputy spokesperson for the department, Tommy Pigott, said the suspension – which does not impact short-term visas including those for the 2026 men’s football World Cup – is being implemented in a bid “to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits”.
He added: “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.”
The decision comes amid a growing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in cities across the US, including in Minneapolis, where Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot dead in her car last week during an ICE operation.
In December, the Trump administration paused immigration applications submitted by nationals from 19 countries that were banned from travel earlier in 2025, according to a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy document.
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In a post on X, the Department of State, which said on Monday it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Mr Trump took office, said: “The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people”.
In a follow-up post, it said: “The Trump Administration will always put America First.”
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David Bier, director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute and The Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, said the Trump administration “has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history.
“This action will ban nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 legal immigrants over the next year alone.”
The full list of countries affected by the suspension announced on Wednesday is:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, 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.
