The United States has said it will pause immigrant visa processing for Bangladesh and 74 other countries around the world.
The Department of State said on Wednesday that visa processing would be paused for countries “whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.”
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department wrote on its verified X account.
However, a State Department memo seen by Fox News Digital directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures.
The affected countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and others.
The pause will begin on January 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department completes a reassessment of immigrant visa processing.
Somalia has drawn heightened scrutiny from federal officials following a sweeping fraud scandal in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered large-scale abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Many of those involved were Somali nationals or Somali-Americans.
In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to diplomatic posts worldwide instructed consular officers to enforce new screening rules under the so-called “public charge” provision of immigration law.
The guidance directs officers to deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits, weighing factors such as health, age, English proficiency, financial resources and potential need for long-term medical care.
Older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had previously used government cash assistance or been institutionalised.
“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,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement.
“Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”
While the public charge provision has existed for decades, its enforcement has varied across administrations, with consular officers historically given broad discretion.
Exceptions to the new pause will be “very limited” and permitted only after applicants clear public charge considerations.
A 2022 version of the public charge rule under the Biden administration narrowed the scope of benefits considered—primarily cash assistance and long-term institutional care—excluding programmes such as SNAP, WIC, Medicaid and housing vouchers.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long allowed consular officers to deem applicants inadmissible on public charge grounds. However, former President Donald Trump expanded the definition in 2019 to include a broader range of public benefits.
That expansion was challenged in court, with parts ultimately blocked before being rescinded by the Biden administration.
The full list of affected countries includes Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, the 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.