State Department suspends immigrant visa processing indefinitely starting January 21 for countries including Russia, Iran, Somalia, Brazil and Nigeria over public charge concerns
The State Department announced Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries whose nationals are deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States. The suspension will begin January 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of immigrant visa processing.
A State Department memo directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and more. The suspension will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the indefinite pause aims to limit applicants deemed likely to become a public charge, a term for someone who relies on government benefits for their basic needs. The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people, Pigott said in a statement.
Public charge rules tightened
In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to posts around the globe instructed consular officers to enforce sweeping new screening rules under the public charge provision of immigration law. The guidance instructs consular officers to deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits, weighing a wide range of factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances and even potential need for long-term medical care.
Older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalization. Pigott said 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. 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, enforcement has varied widely across administrations, with consular officers historically given broad discretion in applying the standard. Exceptions to the new pause will be very limited and only allowed after an applicant has cleared public charge considerations.
Minnesota fraud case draws scrutiny
Somalia has drawn heightened scrutiny from federal officials following a sweeping fraud scandal centered in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered massive abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Many of those involved are Somali nationals or Somali-Americans. President Donald Trump has long complained that immigrants are a drain on public resources, even though studies show that their labor benefits the U.S. economy.
The president has targeted Minnesota amid allegations that day care providers in the state improperly collected millions of federal dollars, with state and federal fraud investigations underway into 14 Minnesota-run safety net programs, including for child nutrition, housing and autism assistance. The U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota has said Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 defendants in the fraud investigations, and Trump has seized on the fraud allegations to denigrate Somali immigrants.
Policy shifts from previous administration
A 2022 version of the public charge rule under the Biden administration had limited the scope of benefits considered, primarily to cash assistance and long-term institutional care, excluding programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children known as WIC, Medicaid or housing vouchers.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long permitted consular officers to deem applicants inadmissible on public charge grounds, but President Donald Trump in 2019 expanded the definition to include a broader range of public benefits. That expansion was challenged in court, with portions ultimately blocked before being rescinded by the Biden administration.
The Department of Homeland Security in November proposed scrapping federal public charge regulations implemented by the Biden administration in 2022 that govern how applicants can be deemed ineligible for U.S. visas. The agency said the existing regulations hamper DHS’s ability to make accurate, precise and reliable determinations of whether certain aliens are likely at any time to become a public charge.
Full list of affected countries
The full list of countries comprises 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.
The State Department has ramped up efforts in recent months to restrict migration, particularly from nations the president has deemed a threat to national security. Last month, the administration expanded a full or partial travel ban on entry to the United States to citizens of 39 countries.