Today, January 14, 2026, through a post on X, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will be pausing immigrant visa (lawful permanent residency) processing for everyone from any of the listed 75 countries. The affected countries are Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, 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.
The pause is expected to go into effect on January 21, 2026. Consular officers have been instructed to halt immigrant visa applications for those who are from the above countries. It appears that this will not affect temporary or nonimmigrant visa processing, for example tourist, employment, or student visas.
The Department of State has not provided any information regarding how long the pause will remain in effect.
Sparks Law will continue to monitor this situation, and we will continue to work on all affected cases of our clients so that when the pause is lifted, we can then complete matters as soon as the government allows.