Immigrant visa processing from 75 countries suspended over public assistance concerns, U.S. says

WASHINGTON — The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of new immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.

The State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges” in the United States.

The step builds on earlier immigration and travel bans by the administration on nearly 40 countries and is part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreigners.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the department said in a statement. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”

The suspension, which will begin Jan. 21, will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas, who make up the vast majority of visa seekers. Demand for non-immigrant visas is expected to rise dramatically in the coming months and years due to the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, both of which the United States will host or co-host.

Long Island has an estimated more than 178,000 foreign-born residents from the countries affected by the new visa ban, according to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data. The most recent Census data does not have a breakdown of foreign workers or naturalized citizens.

The visa ban does not apply to existing foreign-born residents on visas or student visas.

The largest populations of foreign nationals from the list of 75 on Long Island includes an estimated 34,000 residents from Haiti, more than 25,000 from Jamaica, about 24,000 from Guatemala, 20,000 from Colombia and more than 18,000 from Pakistan.

There are also an estimated 9,000 foreign-born residents on Long Island from Bangladesh, about 6,800 from Iran, 4,800 from Nigeria and about 3,500 from Russia, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year estimates.

International students make up a significant share of Long Island college communities.

At Stony Brook University, about 9% of the roughly 17,500 undergraduates were international students in fall 2023, federal figures show. Overall, the university has more than 3,400 foreign students from more than 100 countries, its current handbook for international students states.

David Hensen, who hosts international students through the university's International Friends and Family Program, said he was dismayed by the news about the suspension of new visas.

Of the students he encounters through the program, he said, more than half establish careers and put down roots in the United States after graduation, often working at tech firms or becoming science professors at universities.

“It's terrible, because we're isolating ourselves from the world; we're cutting off a lot of people who can contribute something,” he said. “Most of these are highly motivated, intelligent young people.”

At Hofstra University, spokeswoman Terry Coniglio said in a statement that based on currently available information, “international students and faculty seeking to study and work at Hofstra will still be able to apply for H-1B visas, F-1 visas, and permanent residency” in the United States.

“International students, staff, and faculty bring so much to our university and will always be welcome at Hofstra,” Coniglio said.

In fall 2024 at the Hempstead university, 4% of undergraduates and 14% of graduate students were international students who came from about 80 countries around the world.

The Long Island Association, the region’s nonpartisan and nonprofit business association, declined to comment.

A separate notice sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates said that non-immigrant visa applicants should be screened for the possibility that they might seek public benefits in the United States.

“With the uncovering of massive public benefits fraud across the United States, the Trump administration is laser-focused on eliminating and preventing fraud in public benefits programs,” said the cable that referred specifically to most non-immigrant visa applications and was sent on Monday.

The cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, urged consular officers to ensure that foreigners wanting to travel to the United States “have been fully vetted and screened” for whether they may rely on public services before they are issued a visa.

The cable noted several times that it is up to the applicant to prove that they would not apply for public benefits while in the U.S. and said consular officers who suspect the applicant might apply should require them to fill out a form proving their financial bona fides.

President Donald Trump's administration has already severely restricted immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for citizens of dozens of countries, many of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The November guidance on which Wednesday's decision is based directed U.S. Embassy and consulate officials to comprehensively and thoroughly vet visa applicants to demonstrate that they will not need to rely on public benefits from the government any time after their admission in the U.S.

While federal law already required those seeking permanent residency or legal status to prove they wouldn’t be a public charge, Trump in his first term widened the range of benefit programs that could disqualify applicants, and the guidelines in the cable appear to go further in scope.

Immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. already undergo a medical exam by a physician who’s been approved by a U.S. Embassy. They are screened for communicable diseases, like tuberculosis, and asked to disclose any history of drug or alcohol use, mental health conditions or violence. They’re also required to have a number of vaccinations.

The new directive expanded those with more specific requirements. It said consular officials must consider a range of specific details about people seeking visas, including their age, health, family status, finances, education, skills and any past use of public assistance regardless of the country. It also said they should assess applicants’ English proficiency and can do so by conducting interviews in English.

Experts said at the time it could further limit who gets to enter the country at a time when the Republican administration is already tightening those rules.

The countries affected by the suspension announced on Wednesday are:

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.

Newsday's John Asbury, Maura McDermott and Arielle Martinez contributed to this story.