Properly, this may very well be awkward for Individuals touring overseas.
Starting on January 21, the U.S. will indefinitely droop immigrant visa processing from 75 international locations as a part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. Whereas the suspension solely applies to these visas wanted for employment or to hitch household within the U.S.—and never scholar or vacationer visas—it contains many beloved journey locations for Individuals.
The international locations chosen—together with the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Thailand—have been deemed “excessive threat of public advantages utilization” by the State Division, in line with a statement on Wednesday. The ban goes into impact subsequent week, at which period no immigrant visas shall be issued to nationals of the 75 affected international locations till additional discover.
“Below President Trump, we won’t enable international nationals to abuse America’s immigration system and exploit the generosity of the American folks,” Tommy Pigott, spokesperson for the State Division, posted on the X platform on Wednesday.
This announcement follows one from final week through which the U.S. added seven countries to a list of largely African nations whose passport holders should submit bonds of as much as $15,000 to use to enter the nation.
EFFECTS ON LEGAL IMMIGRATION
This newest crackdown on visas additionally builds upon prior bans that affected 40 international locations, successfully banning visas for practically half of the immigrants who got here to the nation legally in 2024, David J. Bier, director of immigration research on the Cato Institute, wrote in a blog post.
Linking the visa crackdown to considerations about welfare use amongst authorized immigrants is “not good justification” for the sort of immigration restriction, partly as a result of immigrant visa recipients are already barred from receiving any federal means-tested public advantages for 5 years, he mentioned.
“President Trump is main probably the most anti-legal immigrant administration in American historical past,” Bier wrote. “That is simply the most recent motion to slash authorized entries to the USA.”
WHAT THE BAN COVERS
The listing additionally has notable exceptions, together with a number of international locations which can be in any other case the topic of scrutiny by the present administration—China, Mexico, and El Salvador, for instance. What’s extra, it doesn’t goal nationals from a number of international locations for which the U.S. processed probably the most visas in recent times, such because the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, India, and Vietnam.
Along with the exception for vacationer and scholar visas, twin nationals who’ve a legitimate passport from a rustic that’s not on the listing are exempt from the pause, in line with the State Department. And no visas have been revoked, the company mentioned.
POTENTIAL RIPPLE EFFECT
Though tourism visas aren’t affected, the change in visa coverage may have a ripple impact. The U.S. is anticipated to see a increase in international tourism this yr, bringing in additional than 1.2 million guests for the matches scheduled for June and July, in line with estimates by Tourism Economics.
In 2025, the U.S. welcomed 6% fewer international than within the earlier yr, in line with figures launched this week by the World Journey and Tourism Council. And a survey carried out in October by Global Rescue discovered that, on account of U.S. worldwide coverage bulletins in 2025, some 61% of American vacationers imagine they’ll be seen extra negatively whereas touring overseas.
FULL LIST OF AFFECTED COUNTRIES
The total listing of nations affected by the ban on visas that goes into impact subsequent week is: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, 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.
