Overview
- State Department guidance limits the action to immigrant visas, leaving tourist, student, business and other non‑immigrant categories unaffected.
- U.S. embassies will continue accepting filings and holding interviews, but immigrant visas will not be printed during the suspension.
- Previously approved immigrant visas that have not yet been issued may be refused under the new policy.
- Officials cite enhanced vetting and prevention of entrants likely to become a public charge, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio instituting the move under the Trump administration.
- The affected list spans South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Russia and Brazil.