White House halts migrant visas for 75 countries

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

(Image credit: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

What happened

The State Department on Wednesday announced that the U.S. would indefinitely suspend immigrant visa processing for people from 75 different countries whose migrants “would extract wealth from the American people.” Brazil, Egypt, Russia, Iran and Somalia are among the nations affected by the new policy, the latest effort by President Donald Trump to close legal immigration pathways into the U.S.

Who said what

The policy targets foreign nationals the White House has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the U.S. It will not affect the “vast majority of visa seekers,” who apply for “non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas,” The Associated Press said. Demand for those visas is “expected to rise dramatically in the coming months and years due to the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.”

The new visa restrictions follow a State Department memo in November mandating “sweeping new screening rules under the so-called ‘public charge’ provision of immigration law,” Fox News said. The memo said consular officials could reject visas for a “wide range of factors,” including health, age, language proficiency and “even potential need for long-term medical care.” Trump has “long complained that immigrants are a drain on public resources,” The Washington Post said, “even though studies show that their labor benefits the U.S. economy.”

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What next?

Many of the 75 countries listed under the new policy were “already included” in the administration’s “expanded travel ban list,” CNN Said. The policy is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 21.

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.