The pause will come into effect on January 21 and will remain without an end date.
MIAMI, United States. – The US Government ordered to suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, a measure that, according to the State Departmentseeks to prevent the entry of foreigners who, once in US territory, may depend on “social assistance” or “public benefits.”
The pause will take effect on January 21 and will remain without an end date while the State Department “reevaluates” its selection and verification procedures.
The measure focuses on immigrant visas, that is, those that allow permanent residence in the United States, and would not apply to non-immigrant visas for temporary stays (for example, tourism or business).
“The Trump Administration is ending abuse of the US immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said.
According to Reutersthe instruction was transmitted to embassies and consulates so that, during the pause, they reject applications under current legislation while the re-evaluation of procedures is carried out.
Cuba on the list, but without official public list
One of the key points is that there is, for now, a complete official list published by the State Department with the 75 nationalities affected, according to AP. However, EFE reported that a spokesperson for the State Department confirmed the total figure to the agency and that, among the Latin American and Caribbean countries included, there would be Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua and Uruguay, in addition to others such as Russia and Iran.
In parallel, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, published in X a message on freezing visa processing for “75 countries.”
The announcement is part of the tightening of the “public charge” criteria, a provision historically used to consider inadmissible applicants who would probably depend on public aid. The AP noted that the suspension is linked to a previous order (issued in November 2025) to tighten the assessment of potential welfare dependency, and that the State Department said it has instructed consular officials accordingly.
EFE, for its part, reported statements from State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, according to which the objective would be to prevent the entry of foreigners who may end up using public benefits.
