The U.S. is suspending immigrant visas from 75 countries. Here’s what it means for travelers

Well, this could be awkward for Americans traveling abroad.

Beginning on January 21, the U.S. will indefinitely suspend immigrant visa processing from 75 countries as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. While the suspension only applies to those visas needed for employment or to join family in the U.S.—and not student or tourist visas—it includes many beloved travel destinations for Americans.

The countries selected—including the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Thailand—were deemed “high risk of public benefits usage” by the State Department, according to a statement on Wednesday. The ban goes into effect next week, at which time no immigrant visas will be issued to nationals of the 75 affected countries until further notice. 

“Under President Trump, we will not allow foreign nationals to abuse America’s immigration system and exploit the generosity of the American people,” Tommy Pigott, a spokesperson for the State Department, posted on the X platform on Wednesday.

This announcement follows one from last week in which the U.S. added seven countries to a list of mostly African nations whose passport holders must post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the country.

EFFECTS ON LEGAL IMMIGRATION

This latest visa crackdown also builds upon prior bans that affected 40 countries. It will effectively deny entry to nearly half the total of immigrants who came to the country legally in 2024, David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, wrote in a blog post. 

Linking the crackdown to concerns about welfare use among legal immigrants is “not good justification” for this type of immigration restriction, partly because immigrant visa recipients are already barred from receiving any federal means-tested public benefits for five years, Bier said.

“President Trump is leading the most anti-legal immigrant administration in American history,” Bier wrote. “This is just the latest action to slash legal entries to the United States.”

WHAT THE BAN COVERS

The list also has notable exceptions, including several countries that are otherwise the subject of scrutiny by the current administration—China, Mexico, and El Salvador, for example. What’s more, it doesn’t target nationals from several countries for which the U.S. processed the most visas in recent years, such as the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, India, and Vietnam.

In addition to the exception for tourist and student visas, dual nationals who have a valid passport from a country that’s not on the list are exempt from the pause, according to the State Department. And no visas have been revoked, the agency said.

POTENTIAL RIPPLE EFFECT

Even though tourism visas aren’t affected, the change in visa policy could have a ripple effect. The U.S. is expected to see a boom in foreign tourism this year, bringing in more than 1.2 million visitors for the World Cup matches scheduled for June and July, according to estimates by Tourism Economics.

In 2025, the U.S. welcomed 6% fewer foreign tourists than in the previous year, according to figures released this week by the World Travel and Tourism Council. And a survey conducted in October by Global Rescue found that, as a result of U.S. international policy announcements in 2025, some 61% of American travelers believe they’ll be viewed more negatively while traveling abroad.

FULL LIST OF AFFECTED COUNTRIES

The full list of countries affected by the ban on visas that goes into effect next week is: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.