Overview
- Presidential Proclamation 10998 took effect on January 1, imposing full or partial suspensions on visa issuance and entry for citizens of 39 countries on national-security grounds.
- Nineteen countries face a full halt on immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, while another 19—including Cuba and Venezuela—are under partial suspensions that chiefly affect B-1/B-2 and F, M, and J visas; Turkmenistan’s limits apply only to immigrant visas.
- Narrow, case-by-case exceptions include certain diplomatic and official travel, special immigrant visas for eligible U.S. government employees, specified participants in major international sports events, lawful permanent residents, and dual nationals using an unaffected passport.
- The proclamation applies only to applicants without a valid visa as of 12:01 a.m. ET on January 1, and visas issued before that time are not revoked.
- USCIS implemented inflation-linked fee increases on January 1, and DHS will move to a wage-weighted H-1B selection on February 27 for FY2027 registrations while keeping the 65,000 plus 20,000 caps.