The United States has suspended processing of immigrant visas for citizens of Montenegro and 74 other countries.
The US decided to take this step in an effort to tighten control over applicants who are assessed as potentially becoming a burden on public funds, writes Fox News.
According to a State Department memorandum, which the media outlet had access to, consular officers have been instructed to, in accordance with applicable laws, deny visa applications until the Department conducts a new assessment of vetting and security screening procedures.
The list of countries includes, among others, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Russia, Brazil, Iran, Somalia, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria.
The suspension will take effect on January 21 and will last indefinitely, until the State Department completes a review of the visa issuance process, Fox News reports.
Somalia is reportedly under increased federal scrutiny after a major fraud scandal in the state of Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered widespread abuse of state-funded welfare programs. Many of the suspects are Somali nationals or Somali-Americans.
In November 2025, the State Department, in a diplomatic cable sent to missions around the world, instructed consular officers to implement new, significantly stricter screening rules, in accordance with the so-called "public charge" provision in immigration law.
The guidelines mandate that visas be denied to applicants who are assessed as likely to rely on government assistance, considering a wide range of factors, including health status, age, English language proficiency, finances, and even the potential need for long-term medical care.
"The State Department will use its long-standing authority to declare inadmissible potential immigrants who would become a public burden on the United States and abuse the generosity of the American people," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
"Immigration from these 75 countries will be suspended until the State Department re-evaluates visa processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would use welfare and public benefits," Pigot said.
Although the "public charge" provision has existed for decades, its application has varied significantly from administration to administration, with consular officers traditionally having broad discretion in interpreting that standard, according to Fox News.
Exceptions to the new suspension will be "very limited" and only possible after it is determined that the applicant does not fall under the public burden criteria.
The 2022 version of the public charge rule, adopted during President Joe Biden's administration, narrowed the scope of benefits that are taken into account - mainly to cash assistance and long-term institutional care - excluding programs such as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, housing vouchers...
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long allowed consular officers to declare applicants inadmissible based on public burden criteria, but in 2019, US President Donald Trump expanded the definition to include a wider range of public benefits. That decision was challenged in the courts, and parts of it were blocked before being repealed by the Joe Biden administration.
The list of countries affected by the suspension includes: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ivory Coast, 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, North 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.
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