BREAKING: Sec. Marco Rubio freezes all foreign visa processing indefinitely from 75 countries:
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) January 14, 2026
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde,…
The State Department has announced an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, effective January 21, as part of a broader effort to prevent applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits from entering the United States. According to a State Department memo obtained by Fox News Digital, consular officers have been directed to refuse visas under existing “public charge” provisions while the department reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The affected countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, and Yemen, among others. State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott stated, “The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”
The new guidance instructs consular officers to deny visas based on a wide range of factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances, and potential need for long-term medical care, with older or overweight applicants potentially facing rejection along with those who have any past use of government cash assistance. The move follows a November 2025 State Department cable that instructed posts worldwide to enforce sweeping new screening rules, with particular scrutiny falling on Somalia following a major fraud scandal in Minnesota involving abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs.
Exceptions to the visa pause will be “very limited” and only permitted after applicants have cleared public charge considerations, marking a significant departure from the Biden administration’s 2022 version of the rule that had limited the scope of benefits considered primarily to cash assistance and long-term institutional care.