U.S. immigration processing is set for a major reset as the State Department moves to temporarily stop immigrant visa approvals for dozens of countries while officials reevaluate how applicants are screened under federal law.
According to Fox News, an internal State Department memo outlines the decision to pause immigrant visa processing for 75 countries beginning Jan. 21.
The suspension will remain in place indefinitely as the department reassesses how consular officers apply the “public charge” provision of immigration law, which allows visas to be denied to applicants deemed likely to rely on government assistance.
The directive instructs consular officers to refuse visas under existing authority during the review period. Any exceptions to the pause are expected to be extremely limited and granted only after an applicant clears public charge considerations.
The move follows a November 2025 State Department cable that ordered embassies and consulates worldwide to apply stricter screening standards.
Officers were told to consider a wide range of factors, including an applicant’s age, health, English proficiency, financial stability, and the potential need for long-term medical care.
Applicants who are older, overweight, or who have previously relied on government cash assistance or institutional care could be denied under those standards.
Somalia has received heightened scrutiny amid a major fraud scandal centered in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered widespread abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Federal officials have said many of those implicated were Somali nationals or Somali-Americans, adding pressure for tougher screening.
“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 reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”
While the public charge provision has existed for decades, its enforcement has varied widely across administrations.
A Biden-era rule implemented in 2022 narrowed the scope of benefits considered, largely limiting them to cash assistance and long-term institutional care. That rule excluded programs such as SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and housing vouchers.
President Donald Trump’s earlier expansion of the public charge definition in 2019 included a broader range of benefits but was later rescinded after legal challenges.
The Immigration and Nationality Act still gives consular officers broad authority to deny visas on public charge grounds, and the current pause signals a renewed effort to apply that authority more aggressively.
The full list of countries affected by the pause includes: 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.
State Department officials say the pause is intended to restore consistency and credibility to visa screening, with further guidance expected once the reassessment is complete.
