US suspends immigrant visa processing for 75 countries

The freeze begins January 21 with no set end date, not affecting tourist or business visas. Photo / 123rf

The United States says it is suspending the processing of immigrant visas from 75 countries, President Donald Trump’s latest move against foreigners seeking to come to America.

The United States has long rejected visas from people who appear likely to end up needing government welfare, but the State Department said it would now use the same authority for a blanket suspension of immigrant visas based on nationality.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the countries affected would include Somalia – whose people Trump has attacked in heated terms after immigrants were involved in a funding scandal in Minnesota – as well as Russia and Iran.

A US official said that the other countries affected would include a number of countries with friendly relations with the United States, including Brazil, Egypt and Thailand.

Other countries to face the pause include Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country – as well as Iraq and Yemen, the official said.

The State Department did not immediately release a full list of countries.

The freeze will begin on January 21 with no set time for it to end, the US official, who was not authorised to speak to the press, said on condition of anonymity.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to reduce immigration by people who are not of European descent. He has described Somalis as “garbage” who should “go back to where they came from” and instead said he was open to Scandinavians moving to the United States.

The State Department said that it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump’s return, a one-year record.

The Department of Homeland Security last month said that the Trump administration has deported more than 605,000 people, and that 2.5 million others left on their own.

The latest move does not affect tourist, business or other visas, including for soccer fans seeking to visit for this year’s World Cup, although the Trump administration has vowed to vet all applicants’ social media histories.

- Agence France-Presse