The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday it will pause issuing immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries over concerns that they may rely on public assistance in the future.
In a post on X, the U.S. government said immigrants from the list of countries “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.”
The list, which includes U.S. allies and adversaries, alongside several top destinations for American travelers, was later posted on U.S. State Department’s website.
The countries, divided by region, include:
The Americas
– Antigua and Barbuda
– Bahamas
– Barbados
– Belize
– Brazil
– Colombia
– Cuba
– Dominica
– Grenada
– Guatemala
– Haiti
– Jamaica
– Nicaragua
– St. Kitts and Nevis
– St. Lucia
– St. 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
– Côte d’Ivoire
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Egypt
– Eritrea
– Ethiopia
– Ghana
– Guinea
– Liberia
– Libya
– Morocco
– Nigeria
– Republic of the Congo
– Rwanda
– Senegal
– Sierra Leone
– Somalia
– South Sudan
– Sudan
– Tanzania
– The Gambia
– Togo
– Tunisia
– Uganda
The freeze, which is set to begin Jan. 21, does not affect tourist visas.
It will remain in effect “until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” according to the U.S. State Department’s website.
The agency said it is conducting a full review of “all polices, regulations and guidance to ensure immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge.”
The policy does not affect current immigration visas. However, the U.S. government has previously signaled it’s reviewing immigration visas granted under the Biden Administration.
Joseph Edlow, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in a post on X in November, said he’s “directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” at the direction of President Donald Trump.
He added that “the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies.”
