State Department memo pauses immigrant visas for 75 countries

"GELATT: Yeah, the reporting suggests that the State Department will stop issuing immigrant visas - so permanent visas - for people from these 75 countries on January 21. This includes some bigger-sending countries to United States, like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cuba, and could really slow legal in-migration. We looked at data from recent years, and almost half of people getting immigrant visas come from these 75 countries."

"GELATT: They say that they're doing this pause in order to buy time to figure out how to better screen out people who are likely to become a public charge. That means somebody who's likely to be dependent on the government to get by by using public benefits. This is a very broad-brush approach. They're trying to find people who have low incomes and might need government assistance, but they're blocking everybody from these 75 countries while they work on changing their processes."

The State Department will stop issuing immigrant (permanent) visas to nationals of 75 countries beginning January 21. The list includes major sending countries to the United States such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Cuba. Almost half of recent immigrant visa recipients originate from these 75 countries, which could substantially slow legal in-migration. The administration states the pause is intended to buy time to devise better screening to identify applicants likely to become public charges. The pause uses a broad-brush approach that blocks all applicants from those countries while processes are reworked, targeting low-income individuals who might need public assistance.

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