US freezes all visa processing for 75 countries, including Somalia, Russia, Iran

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department is pausing all visa processing for 75 countries in an effort to crack down on applicants deemed likely to become a public charge. 

A State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures. 

The countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and more. 

The pause will begin Jan. 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of visa processing.

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Somalia has drawn heightened scrutiny from federal officials following a sweeping fraud scandal centered in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered massive abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Many of those involved are Somali nationals or Somali-Americans. 

In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to posts around the globe instructed consular officers to enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law. 

The guidance instructs consular officers to deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits, weighing a wide range of factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances and even potential need for long-term medical care.

Older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalization.

 "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people," State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement. 

"Immigration 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."

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While the public charge provision has existed for decades, enforcement has varied widely across administrations, with consular officers historically given broad discretion in applying the standard.

Exceptions to the new pause will be "very limited" and only allowed after an applicant has cleared public charge considerations.

A 2022 version of the public charge rule under the Biden administration had limited the scope of benefits considered — primarily to cash assistance and long-term institutional care — excluding programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, Medicaid or housing vouchers.

The Immigration and Nationality Act has long permitted consular officers to deem applicants inadmissible on public charge grounds, but President Donald Trump in 2019 expanded the definition to include a broader range of public benefits. That expansion was challenged in court, with portions ultimately blocked before being rescinded by the Biden administration.