The United States is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries in one other growth of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
The pause in processing will apply to countries together with Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia. The suspension applies to immigrant visas, resembling these for employment within the US. The pause doesn’t apply to non-immigrant visas like scholar and vacationer visas, and as such wouldn’t apply for these searching for to journey to the World Cup within the US this summer time.
The pause will start on January 21, a US official stated.
The suspension comes after the State Department final yr directed elevated scrutiny underneath the “public charge” provision of immigration legislation meant to focus on those that the Trump administration believes will grow to be a pressure on public sources.
“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 Pigott stated in a press release Wednesday.
“Immigrant visa processing 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,” he stated.
Plenty of the countries impacted by the visa processing suspension had been already included as a part of the administration’s expanded journey ban checklist.