The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it is suspending immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries due to concerns that they may need to rely on public assistance in the future.
In a post to
The list, which includes U.S. allies and adversaries as well as some popular destinations for American travelers, was later posted on the U.S. State Department website.
The countries divided by region are as follows:
Americas
– Antigua and Barbuda
– Bahamas
– Barbados
– Belize
– Brazil
– Colombia
– Cuba
– Dominica
– Grenada
– Guatemala
– Haiti
– Jamaica
– Nicaragua
– Saint Kitts and Nevis
– Saint Lucia
– Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
– Uruguay
Europe
– Albania
– Belarus
– Bosnia and Herzegovina
– Kosovo
– Moldova
– Montenegro
– North Macedonia
Asia Pacific
– Afghanistan
-Armenia
– Azerbaijan
– Bangladesh
– Bhutan
– Cambodia
– Fiji
– Georgia
– Iran
– Iraq
– Jordan
– Kazakhstan
– Kuwait
– Kyrgyzstan
– Laos
– Lebanon
– Mongolia
– Myanmar
– Nepal
– Pakistan
– Russia
– Syria
– Thailand
– Uzbekistan
– Yemen
Africa
– Algeria
– Cameroon
– Cape Verde
– Ivory Coast
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Egypt
– Eritrea
– Ethiopia
– Ghana
– Guinea
– Liberia
– Libya
– Morocco
– Nigeria
– Republic of Congo
– Rwanda
– Senegal
– Sierra Leone
– Somalia
– South Sudan
– Sudan
– Tanzania
– Gambia
– Takeaway
– Tunisia
– Uganda
The freeze is scheduled to begin on January 21, but will not affect tourist visas.
The measure will remain in place “until the United States can ensure that new immigrants do not extract wealth from American citizens,” according to the State Department’s website.
This latest announcement follows a series of entry and travel visa restrictions by the Trump administration, including the suspension of diversity visas in late December. Diversity visas allow up to 55,000 immigrants from countries with low immigration rates to enter the United States each year.
current immigrant visa
This policy does not affect current immigrant visas. However, the US government has previously indicated that it would review immigrant visas issued under the Biden administration.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Secretary Joseph Edlow said in a November post on X that President Donald Trump has directed “a full and rigorous review of all green cards for all aliens in all countries of concern.
He added: “Americans are not going to bear the costs of the previous administration’s reckless resettlement policies.”
Immigrant visa holders who are granted permanent resident cards, commonly known as green cards, are eligible for certain types of public assistance, but there is a five-year waiting period after eligibility for some benefits, including Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, according to the nonpartisan nonprofit group USAFacts.
The State Department announced Monday that it will revoke the visas of more than 100,000 people in 2025 for criminal offenses ranging from drunk driving to theft, including overstayed tourists, about 8,000 student visa holders, and 2,500 skilled worker visa holders.
