The State Department is expanding the number of foreign countries with a freeze on immigrant visa processing to 75 nations in order to crack down on applicants seeking welfare.
The Trump administration says foreigners are taking welfare from American citizens at exceedingly high rates, thus placing undue pressure for those who need government-provided cash assistance and long-term institutional care.
“The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department posted on X in part on Wednesday.
The action is intended to keep out immigrants likely to become public charges, meaning they end up primarily relying on government welfare for subsistence. Becoming a public charge is grounds for visa denial or inadmissibility to the United States.
The freeze on visa processing starts Jan. 21 and continues indefinitely until the State Department reassesses. Among the impacted countries are Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Nigeria.
The Trump administration is currently scrutinizing Somalia in relation to allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota. Federal personnel across various departments, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, are working on the ground in Minneapolis to investigate the alleged Somali-linked fraud in the state’s social services programs.
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Wednesday’s announcement builds on a previous move that the administration took. At the start of this month, the State Department fully suspended visa issuance to foreign nationals originating from 19 countries and placed 19 additional countries under a partial suspension. The full suspension also affects anyone coming to the U.S. with travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to restrict and limit foreign nationals from entering the U.S. in the name of national security. The administration is taking precautions with processing visas partly due to the large number of visitors the U.S. is expected to receive for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.
