The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it is suspending immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries due to concerns that they may need to rely on public assistance in the future.
In a post to
The list, which includes U.S. allies and adversaries as well as some popular destinations for American travelers, was later posted on the U.S. State Department website.
The countries divided by region are as follows:
Americas
– Antigua and Barbuda
– Bahamas
– Barbados
– Belize
– Brazil
– Colombia
– Cuba
– Dominica
– Grenada
– Guatemala
– Haiti
– Jamaica
– Nicaragua
– Saint Kitts and Nevis
– Saint Lucia
– Saint 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
– Ivory Coast
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Egypt
– Eritrea
– Ethiopia
– Ghana
– Guinea
– Liberia
– Libya
– Morocco
– Nigeria
– Republic of Congo
– Rwanda
– Senegal
– Sierra Leone
– Somalia
– South Sudan
– Sudan
– Tanzania
– Gambia
– Takeaway
– Tunisia
– Uganda
The freeze is scheduled to begin on January 21, but will not affect tourist visas.
The measure will remain in place “until the United States can ensure that new immigrants do not extract wealth from American citizens,” according to the State Department’s website.
The agency said it was conducting an overhaul of “all policies, regulations, and guidance designed to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not receive welfare or become public charges in the United States.”
This policy does not affect current immigrant visas. However, the US government has previously indicated it would review immigrant visas granted under the Biden administration.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Secretary Joseph Edlow said in a November post on X that President Donald Trump has directed “a full and rigorous review of all green cards for all aliens in all countries of concern.
“Americans are not going to bear the costs of the previous administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” he added.
