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ARTICLE · 20 JANUARY 2026

State Department Suspends Immigrant Visa Processing For 75 Countries

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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced that starting Jan. 21, 2026, immigrant visa processing will be suspended indefinitely for nationals from 75 countries.

GlobalImmigration
Taylor Tremont
Taylor Tremont

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced that starting Jan. 21, 2026, immigrant visa processing will be suspended indefinitely for nationals from 75 countries. The announcement cited public charge concerns as the basis for the suspension and indicated that immigrant visa processing will be paused while DOS "reassess[es] immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits." DOS will continue to accept immigrant visa applications and schedule interviews for applicants from affected countries, but immigrant visas will not be issued while the suspension is in effect.

Notably, the suspension does not apply to nonimmigrant visa processing, including temporary tourist, student and work visas (B-1s, F-1s, J-1s, H-1Bs, L-1s, etc.) It is also important to emphasize that an immigrant visa ban only impacts processing at U.S. Consulates abroad and does not impact cases filed for individuals within the

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