This morning, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced via X that they will pause immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, citing abuse of public assistance programs. The pause will take effect on January 21, 2026. No further official guidance has been released yet, but news reports indicate that the countries subject to the pause will include Brazil, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, and others.
Individuals can seek permanent residence (green card) in the U.S. through different routes, with each route consisting of multiple steps. Generally, the last step of each route consists of either filing an application stateside with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) if the individual is in the U.S. or by applying for an immigrant visa abroad at a U.S. Consulate. What this pause means is that those individuals from the 75 countries will not be able to complete their immigrant visa processing until further notice.
Our understanding is that the policy only applies to immigrant visas for those intending to permanently immigrate to the U.S. and not to temporary nonimmigrant visas (e.g., F-1 students, H-1B specialty occupation workers, L-1 multinational transferees, etc.), the full details of the policy have not yet been released.
Based on several sources, below is the full list of countries affected by the pause:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The above information was provided for educational purposes. Feel free to contact your Clark Lau LLC attorney to see if the above information applies to you. We will continue to monitor the news and keep you updated.