--- title: U.S. Will Suspend Visa Processing From 75 Countries description: The indefinite pause marks another escalation of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. canonical: https://time.com/7346329/trump-immigration-visa-processing-pause/ author: Connor Greene article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-01-14T19:10:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:47:09.055Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Will Suspend Visa Processing From 75 Countries og:description: The indefinite pause marks another escalation of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. og:url: https://time.com/7346329/trump-immigration-visa-processing-pause/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt102af85237a08c07/6998ccda1f6709eae6f5714f/GettyImages-2255568066.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Will Suspend Visa Processing From 75 Countries twitter:description: The indefinite pause marks another escalation of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt102af85237a08c07/6998ccda1f6709eae6f5714f/GettyImages-2255568066.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Administration Will Suspend Visa Processing From 75 Countries, Extending Crackdown on Legal Immigration > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Editorial Fellow Jan 14, 2026 7:10 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to the press upon returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 13, 2026. President Donald Trump speaks to the press upon returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 13, 2026. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Editorial Fellow Jan 14, 2026 7:10 PM UTC The State Department is indefinitely halting the processing of immigrant visa applications for people from 75 countries in another escalation of President Donald Trump’s [immigration crackdown](https://time.com/7338064/green-card-rules-immigration-changes-trump/). The department, which [announced](https://x.com/StateDept/status/2011478657680757214) the move on X on Wednesday, cast it as part of an effort to bar people who would require public assistance from coming to the U.S. “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,” the department said, adding in another [post](https://x.com/StateDept/status/2011478658964230261) that “the pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused.” The department has not publicly identified all 75 of the countries, but a memo first obtained by [_Fox News_](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-freezes-all-visa-processing-75-countries-including-somalia-russia-iran) included the full list. In addition to the four named by the State Department in its announcement, the countries reportedly include 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, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, 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, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. The suspension will begin on Jan. 21\. It will not apply to tourist, business, or non-immigrant visa applications. **Read more:** [_Trump Threatens to Denaturalize U.S. Citizens If They ‘Deserve’ It. Experts Raise Grave Concerns About Future_](https://time.com/7344931/trump-threatens-to-denaturalize-us-citizens/) In instructions sent to consular officers in November, the State Department advised them to deny visas for applicants who were deemed likely to rely on public benefits based on their health, age, economic situation, language abilities, and other factors. The moves have come as part of the Trump Administration’s wider efforts to restrict legal immigration into the U.S. alongside its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. Those efforts [intensified](https://time.com/7338064/green-card-rules-immigration-changes-trump/) in the wake of an [Afghan national](https://time.com/7340248/afghan-refugees-national-guard-dc-shooting-lakanwal/) being arrested as the suspected gunman in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., in November, with the Administration pausing asylum decisions, launching a “reexamination” of green cards issued to people from a number of countries, and expanding a [travel ban](https://time.com/7341347/travel-ban-immigration-countries/) to include citizens from 39 countries, among other restrictions. A number of the countries impacted by the department’s most recent visa suspension were already a part of the Administration’s travel ban. 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