ISLAMABAD: The United States has indefinitely suspended immigrant visaprocessing for applicants from 75 countries, effective January 21, 2026, ina major escalation of immigration restrictions under the Trumpadministration. The State Department justified the move by citing concernsthat nationals from these nations are likely to become public charges,relying on government benefits at unacceptable rates. The policy builds onearlier expansions of the public charge rule, which assesses an applicant’spotential dependence on public assistance for basic needs. This freezeaffects only immigrant visas for permanent residency and does not impactnon-immigrant categories such as tourist, student or temporary work visas.
The announcement followed a State Department statement emphasizing the needto prevent foreign nationals from extracting wealth from American taxpayersthrough welfare programs. Officials indicated the pause would continueuntil a comprehensive reassessment of immigration vetting proceduresensures new immigrants do not burden public resources. The list of affectedcountries includes Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Pakistan,Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Thailand, Iraq, Yemen and many others acrossAfrica, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East. A detailedcable instructed consular officers worldwide to halt processing for thesenationalities pending further review.
Analysts trace the policy’s foundation to a chart shared by PresidentDonald Trump on Truth Social earlier in January 2026, which rankedcountries by the percentage of immigrant-headed households receiving someform of US public assistance. The graphic listed nations like Bhutan atover 80 percent, followed by others such as Somalia, Yemen and variousPacific islands, with Pakistan cited at around 40 percent. The chartappeared to influence the selection of many countries on the 75-nationlist, though not all matched exactly, suggesting additional factors in thedecision-making process.
Critics have highlighted the chart’s lack of transparent sourcing ormethodology, raising questions about data reliability and potentialinaccuracies. No official government agency has publicly endorsed ordetailed the figures’ origins, leaving room for speculation on whether theyderive from census data, surveys or other estimates. Immigration expertsnote that public assistance usage varies widely by program type, durationof residency and household composition, complicating direct comparisonsacross national origins.
International Analyst Michael Kugleman raised the point that particularlycontentious is Pakistan’s inclusion, given the well-documented profile ofthe Pakistani-American community as one of the more affluent immigrantgroups in the United States. Studies and demographic analyses consistentlyshow higher-than-average education levels, household incomes andprofessional attainment among Pakistanis in America, often concentrated infields like medicine, engineering and technology. This contrasts sharplywith the chart’s reported 40 percent assistance rate, prompting skepticismabout its accuracy for this specific diaspora.
Michael Kugelman, a prominent South Asia analyst, offered a pointedobservation on the discrepancy. He noted that while most nations on thechart overlap with the visa freeze list, the figures for Pakistan seemanomalous given the community’s established reputation for economicself-sufficiency and low welfare dependency. Kugelman emphasized the needfor clearer explanation of data derivation, arguing that without verifiablesources, such statistics risk misrepresenting realities and unfairlytargeting certain populations.
The policy revives elements of previous Trump-era efforts to tighten publiccharge determinations, which once expanded benefit considerations beforefacing legal challenges and partial reversal under subsequentadministrations. Current measures appear to go further by pausing entirenational cohorts rather than individual assessments, potentially affectingfamily reunification, employment-based immigration and other legal pathwaysfor thousands of applicants.
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Immigration advocacy groups have expressed concern that the freeze coulddeter eligible applicants from accessing benefits they qualify for, eventemporarily, out of fear it might jeopardize future immigration prospects.Migration policy researchers warn of broader humanitarian implications,including family separations and reduced legal migration options amidongoing global displacement crises.
Supporters of the administration’s approach argue it aligns withlongstanding US immigration law provisions intended to protect publicresources and prioritize self-sufficient entrants. The State Department hasframed the action as a necessary safeguard against perceived abuse ofgenerosity, vowing to resume processing only when robust assurances are inplace.
As the suspension takes effect, affected applicants face prolongeduncertainty, with consular backlogs likely to worsen. The move underscoresthe Trump administration’s continued focus on reshaping legal immigrationthrough stricter economic and security criteria, amid broader efforts tocurb both irregular and regulated inflows.
Source:https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/immigrant-visas-suspended-trump
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