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NEW DELHI: The United States has decided to frost visa processing indefinitely for citizens of 75 countries, including Iran, Russia, Somalia and Afghanistan, successful what is being described arsenic 1 of the Trump administration’s astir far-reaching migration enforcement measures, according to a Fox News Digital report.The US State Department volition suspend visa processing opening January 21 portion it reassesses screening and vetting procedures, a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance said. The idiosyncratic spoke connected information of anonymity arsenic the interior section memo has not been made public.According to the memo, consular officers person been instructed to garbage visas nether existing instrumentality arsenic portion of a broader effort to tighten enforcement of the “public charge” proviso of US migration law.
The determination is aimed astatine denying introduction to applicants deemed apt to trust connected nationalist payment benefits.The database of affected countries includes Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand and Yemen, among others. While applicants from immoderate of these countries already look important hurdles successful obtaining US visas, the determination is expected to travel arsenic a daze to nationals from others, including Brazil.
The intermission volition stay successful effect indefinitely until the State Department completes its reassessment of visa processing procedures, the study said.Somalia has drawn peculiar scrutiny pursuing a large fraud probe successful Minnesota, wherever prosecutors uncovered wide maltreatment of taxpayer-funded payment programmes. Federal officials said galore of those implicated were Somali nationals oregon Somali-Americans.In November 2025, the State Department sent a cablegram to US diplomatic posts worldwide directing consular officers to use stricter screening standards nether the nationalist complaint provision. The guidance instructs officers to contradict visas to applicants considered apt to beryllium connected nationalist benefits, taking into relationship factors specified arsenic health, age, English proficiency, fiscal presumption and the imaginable request for semipermanent aesculapian care.Under the guidance, older oregon overweight applicants could beryllium denied visas, arsenic could individuals with immoderate past usage of authorities currency assistance oregon organization care.In a statement, State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said, “The State Department volition usage its long-standing authorization to deem ineligible imaginable immigrants who would go a nationalist complaint connected the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”“Immigration from these 75 countries volition beryllium paused portion the State Department reassess migration processing procedures to forestall the introduction of overseas nationals who would instrumentality payment and nationalist benefits,” helium added.The nationalist complaint proviso has existed successful US migration instrumentality for decades, though enforcement has varied wide crossed administrations, with consular officers traditionally fixed wide discretion successful applying the standard.Exceptions to the visa intermission volition beryllium “very limited” and volition lone beryllium granted aft applicants person cleared nationalist complaint considerations, according to the report.Under a 2022 mentation of the nationalist complaint regularisation implemented during the Biden administration, the scope of benefits considered was narrowed chiefly to currency assistance and semipermanent organization care. Programmes specified arsenic the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Women, Infants and Children nutrition programme, Medicaid and lodging vouchers were excluded.The Immigration and Nationality Act has agelong allowed consular officers to contradict visas connected nationalist complaint grounds. In 2019, President Donald Trump expanded the explanation to see a broader scope of nationalist benefits. That determination was challenged successful court, with parts of it blocked earlier being rescinded by the Biden administration.
