The USA want to stop issuing visas to citizens of 75 countries this month. The measure should come into force on January 21st, the State Department in Washington announced. The channel previously had Fox News citing a memo from the ministry. Applicants from Russia, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Brazil, Thailand, Nigeria, Egypt and Somalia would be affected, among others.
The procurement freeze should therefore apply for an indefinite period of time until the procedure is revised. The measure is primarily aimed at taking action against applicants who receive social benefits in the USA and thereby put a strain on public finances. The State Department will use its authority to deter entry “potential migrants who (…) take advantage of the generosity of the American people,” quoted Fox News a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
Tourist and business visas continue
The agency itself made a similar statement: The government is ending the abuse of the immigration system by people who want to enrich themselves at the expense of the USA, the ministry said. Applications for visas, for example for tourists and business travelers, are not affected by the stop.
Last November, Trump announced that he would “permanently stop migration from third world countries.” According to Fox News, U.S. missions around the world then received instructions from the State Department to apply stricter screening procedures and reject visa applications if the applicants were suspected of being dependent on welfare in the United States for health reasons, age or lack of English language skills.
100,000 visas canceled last year
Regulations stating that visas should not be issued in such cases have been in place for a long time. So far, however, US missions abroad have had a lot of leeway in enforcing the rules, which they should interpret as strictly as possible in the future, according to instructions from Washington.
In addition to the planned stop to the issuance of visas, the US government will increasingly cancel visas that have already been issued. On Monday, the Foreign Ministry said Last year the US authorities canceled 100,000 visas. The number is two and a half times as high as last year. The cancellations were justified by violations of the law by those affected.
