Washington: The U.S. State Department is preparing to suspend visa processing for applicants from 75 nations, including Russia and Iran, as part of a sweeping initiative to block immigrants judged likely to depend on government assistance, according to reports on Wednesday.
The indefinite pause, first reported by Fox News, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 21. It targets individuals deemed a potential "public charge", a legal standard used to determine if a non-citizen is likely to become primarily reliant on the state for subsistence.
According to an internal State Department memo, consular officers have been directed to refuse visas under existing legal authorities while the agency conducts a comprehensive reassessment of its screening and vetting protocols.
Expanded Criteria for Refusal
The list of affected jurisdictions includes Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, and Yemen.
The directive follows a November 2025 cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that instructed global diplomatic posts to implement more rigorous screening. Under the updated guidance, officers are empowered to deny visas based on a "totality of circumstances," including:
- Health and Age: Applicants who are elderly or have chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer face heightened scrutiny.
- Physical Condition: Consular staff may consider obesity a factor for denial if it is projected to lead to expensive, long-term medical costs.
- Financial and Personal Skills: Vetting now places greater emphasis on English language proficiency, education, and immediate financial resources.
- Benefit History: Any past reliance on government cash assistance or institutionalisation is treated as a significant "red flag."
"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 Pigott said in a statement.
Context of the Crackdown
The suspension follows a series of aggressive immigration manoeuvres by the Trump administration in its first year back in office. Somalia has reportedly come under specific focus following a major taxpayer-funded benefit fraud scandal in Minnesota involving individuals of Somali descent.
While the "public charge" provision has existed in the Immigration and Nationality Act for decades, its application has varied significantly between administrations. The 2022 Biden-era rules limited the scope of the test primarily to cash assistance and long-term care, excluding non-cash programs like SNAP (food stamps) or Medicaid. The new policy seeks to reverse that leniency, granting officers broad discretion to predict an applicant's future economic burden.
The State Department noted that exceptions to the pause will be "very limited" and granted only to those who can demonstrably clear the public charge threshold.
List of Countries
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
With inputs from ANI