January 21 will mark the day visas stopped for 75 countries, as the Trump administration’s new suspension takes effect. The indefinite freeze on immigrant visa processing targets nations whose citizens are deemed at risk of becoming public charges. This policy represents a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to limit legal immigration.
The directive is clear: no new visas are to be printed for the affected nationalities. Consular officers have been instructed to refuse any case that has not been finalized with a printed visa by the deadline. This retroactive application of the rule nullifies many approvals that were already in the final stages.
The list of countries is extensive, affecting millions of potential immigrants. It covers diverse regions and political climates, from stable democracies to conflict zones. The common thread is the administration’s economic assessment of the applicants.
Exceptions are rare, reserved for dual nationals of unaffected countries and specific national interest cases. For most, January 21 is the end of the road for their US immigration journey.
The countries affected by this stoppage are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.