Trump administration indefinitely pauses immigrant visa processing for 75 nations

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is halting immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, including Brazil, Iran, Russia and Somalia, the latest effort by officials to restrict legal immigration pathways.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the indefinite pause aims to limit applicants deemed likely to become a “public charge,” a term for someone who relies on government benefits for their basic needs. The order takes effect Jan. 21, and a full list of the countries on the administration’s list has not been released.

“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,” Pigott said.

The State Department has ramped up efforts in recent months to restrict migration, particularly from nations the president has deemed a threat to national security. Last month, the administration expanded a full or partial travel ban on entry to the United States to citizens of 39 countries, a move that came after an Afghan immigrant was charged in the shooting in November of two National Guard members in D.C.

The administration also paused all asylum cases processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, suspended processing of citizenship and green card applications for citizens of the initial 19 countries subject to the travel ban, and suspended all immigration-related requests from Afghan nationals.

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, estimated that the pause on visa processing “will ban nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 legal immigrants over the next year.”

The order will not affect processing for nonimmigrant visas — a category that include students and tourists — officials said. That means fans seeking temporary entry to the United States to attend World Cup soccer matches this summer are unlikely to be affected, immigration experts said.

Trump has long complained that immigrants are a drain on public resources, even though studies show that their labor benefits the U.S. economy. (Source: The Washington Post)