The US State Department is suspending all visa processing for 75 countries indefinitely. Countries affected include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania.
This is based on the existing “public charge” rule, according to which people can be refused if they are likely to be dependent on state support.
According to an internal memo, consular officials should refuse visas until a new screening and assessment framework has been developed. The decision follows stricter guidelines from November 2025, which provide for a strict interpretation of the public charge criteria. Factors such as age, state of health, English language skills, financial resources and a possible need for long-term medical care are taken into account.
One of the reasons given for the measure is a large-scale fraud case in Minnesota, in which a network of suspected benefit fraud was uncovered. Many of those involved are said to be of Somali origin.
Exceptions to the visa ban are only provided for in very limited cases and are only possible if applicants pass the public charge check in full. Under the Trump administration, the definition of the term “public charge” was expanded in 2019, but this was partially halted by the courts and later reversed by the Biden administration.
The stricter requirements could also have a significant impact on international shipping. Shipping companies could face considerable challenges in filling crew positions, as regular crew visas are required for many seafarers from third countries.
100,000 visas canceled last year
The State Department will use its authority to prevent “potential migrants who would (…) take advantage of the generosity of the American people” from entering the country, Fox News quoted a State Department spokesman as saying. Regulations stating that visas should not be issued in such cases have been in place for a long time. Until now, however, US diplomatic missions abroad have had a lot of leeway in enforcing the rules, which they should interpret as strictly as possible in future according to the instructions from Washington.
In addition to the planned halt to the issuing of visas, the US government will increasingly cancel visas that have already been issued. On Monday, the State Department announced that the US authorities had canceled 100,000 visas last year, two and a half times as many as in the previous year. The cancellations were justified with violations of the law on the part of those affected.
