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Published : 14 Jan 2026, 11:25 PM
The Trump administration is suspending all immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan.
A US State Department spokesperson shared the development with Reuters on Wednesday.
The spokesperson did not elaborate on the plan, first reported by Fox News, which cited a State Department memo.
The pause will begin on January 21, Fox News said.
Somalia, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand are among the affected countries, according to the report.
The memo directs US embassies to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses its procedures. No time frame was provided.
The pause does not affect visitor visas, according to the report.
"The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge in the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people," Reuters said, quoting Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson at the US State Department.
"Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits," the official added.
Trump has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office in January. His administration has aggressively prioritised immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and sparking violent confrontations with both migrants and US citizens.
While he campaigned on stopping illegal immigration into the United States, his administration has made legal immigration more difficult, for example, by imposing new and expensive fees on the applicants of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers.
The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 14, 2026
"This administration has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history," the report quoted David Bier, Cato’s Director of Immigration Studies and The Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, as saying.
"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," Bier said.
Trump, a Republican, recaptured the White House promising record levels of deportations, saying it was needed after years of high levels of illegal immigration under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
The State Department has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office, it said on Monday. The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded screening.
In November, Trump had vowed to "permanently pause" migration from all "Third World Countries" following a shooting near the White House by an Afghan national that killed a National Guard member.
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 and Yemen.
