Effective January 21, 2026, US President is pausing all visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of the following countries:
Afghanistan,
Albania,
Algeria,
Antigua and Barbuda,
Armenia,
Azerbaijan,
Bahamas,
Bangladesh,
Barbados,
Belarus,
Belize,
Bhutan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Brazil,
Burma,
Cambodia,
Cameroon,
Cape Verde,
Colombia,
Cote 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,
Kyrgyz Republic,
Laos,
Lebanon,
Liberia,
Libya,
Moldova,
Mongolia,
Montenegro,
Morocco,
Nepal,
Nicaragua,
Nigeria,
North Macedonia,
Pakistan,
Republic of the Congo,
Russia,
Rwanda,
Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Senegal,
Sierra Leone,
Somalia,
South Sudan,
Sudan,
Syria,
Tanzania,
Thailand,
Togo,
Tunisia,
Uganda,
Uruguay,
Uzbekistan,
and Yemen.
President Trump has time and again made clear that immigrants must be financially self sufficient, independent and not be a financial burden to Americans. The US government is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge.
But reading names of all the countries, some of the names are very surprising.
