By the numbers, the new US visa freeze is staggering: 75 nations and millions of potential applicants affected. The Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for these countries starting January 21. The policy utilizes the “public charge” rule to justify a massive reduction in immigration eligibility.
The freeze is implemented by halting the printing of visas. Consular officers must refuse cases that have not been physically issued. This administrative bottleneck creates a significant drop in immigration numbers from the listed regions.
The list covers a vast array of countries, from small populations to large ones. The cumulative effect is a major shift in global migration patterns. The policy is a numbers game, designed to lower the total count of immigrants.
Exceptions are rare, limited to dual nationals of non-listed countries and national interest cases. For the vast majority, the numbers add up to a rejection.
The 75 countries are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte 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, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.