State Department halts immigrant visa processing for 75 countries

State Department halts immigrant visa processing for 75 countries. By Eric Bazail-Eimil and Nahal Toosi. 01/14/2026 01:08 PM EST.

The pause will not directly affect processing of tourist visas or visas for attendees of the World Cup, although those travelers could face other restrictions.

The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries as it looks to overhaul its system for determining whether those who want to come to the U.S. would burden the social safety net.

The change at State follows a November proposal to revise the rules for admissibility to the United States. Immigrants have long been ineligible for entry to the United States if immigration officers believe they would become a "public charge" and depend too much on entitlement programs. But the Trump administration is looking to codify a more expansive definition of what a "public charge" would represent.

"The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people," the department said in a social media post Wednesday.

Fox News reported earlier on the suspension of processing at State.

Among the countries affected are Brazil, Nigeria, Cuba, Somalia, Egypt, Iran and Iraq.

Per a State Department official, granted anonymity to speak about sensitive visa issues, the pause is not expected to directly affect processing of tourist visas or the visas for those coming to the United States to attend sporting events, chiefly the World Cup, later this year. That said, individuals could still face difficulties if their countries are subject to other Trump travel bans and restrictions.

In the proposed rule from November, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would direct immigration officers to consider whether an immigrant would use programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the Children's Health Insurance Program and even non-cash benefit programs including free and reduced-cost school lunch. It also lowered the standard of review for those determinations.

The new rule is expected to take effect later this year, though it will likely face challenges in court from immigration advocacy groups who say it could have a chilling effect that would dissuade immigrant families from accessing benefits all people in the United States may be eligible for.