Pakistan, 74 other nations hit by US immigrant visa freeze; check full list here

The Trump administration has placed Pakistan on a list of 75 countries facing an indefinite freeze on US visa processing, despite recent improvements in US-Pakistan relations.

Nationals from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran, Russia, Brazil and more than 60 other countries will face this indefinite pause on US immigrant visa processing, as the Trump administration widens restrictions on legal migration pathways into the United States.

The US State Department has placed immigrant visa processing on hold for applicants from 75 countries, a move that takes effect on 21 January. The pause does not apply to non-immigrant visas, such as temporary tourist or business travel visas. India is not included in the list.

Check the full list here:

1. Afghanistan

2. Albania

3. Algeria

4. Antigua and Barbuda

5. Armenia

6. Azerbaijan

7. Bahamas

8. Bangladesh

9. Barbados

10. Belarus

11. Belize

12. Bhutan

13. Bosnia and Herzegovina

14. Brazil

15. Cambodia

16. Cameroon

17. Cape Verde

18. Colombia

19. Côte d’Ivoire

20. Cuba

21. Democratic Republic of the Congo

22. Dominica

23. Egypt

24. Eritrea

25. Ethiopia

26. Fiji

27. The Gambia

28. Georgia

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29. Ghana

30. Grenada

31. Guatemala

32. Guinea

33. Haiti

34. Iran

35. Iraq

36. Jamaica

37. Jordan

38. Kazakhstan

39. Kosovo

40. Kuwait

41. Kyrgyzstan

42. Laos

43. Lebanon

44. Liberia

45. Libya

46. North Macedonia

47. Moldova

48. Mongolia

49. Montenegro

50. Morocco

51. Myanmar

52. Nepal

53. Nicaragua

54. Nigeria

55. Pakistan

56. Republic of the Congo

57. Russia

58. Rwanda

59. Saint Kitts and Nevis

60. Saint Lucia

61. St Vincent and the Grenadines

62. Senegal

63. Sierra Leone

64. Somalia

65. South Sudan

66. Sudan

67. Syria

68. Tanzania

69. Thailand

70. Togo

71. Tunisia

72. Uganda

73. Uruguay

74. Uzbekistan

75. Yemen

The Trump administration said the move is aimed at tightening screening and preventing abuse of public benefit systems. The State Department said on Wednesday the administration wants to bring “an end to the abuse” of the immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people by using welfare and public benefits.

President Donald Trump, who has sought to curb both illegal and legal migration since returning to office, has already halted immigrant visa processing for nationals from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Somalia as part of earlier measures.

sAccording to the Associated Press, consular officers have been instructed to halt immigrant visa applications from the affected countries. The suspension does not cover asylum claims, temporary travel visas, or business visas, but it does pause green card processing and citizenship-related cases linked to earlier bans.

The latest step builds on a series of security-driven restrictions introduced over recent months. After an immigrant from Afghanistan was charged in November in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, the administration banned or limited entry from 19 countries. In December, the travel ban was expanded to five additional countries and to individuals travelling on Palestinian Authority–issued documents.

Asylum cases, citizenship processing and green card applications for immigrants from the initial 19-country list remain paused, further narrowing legal immigration routes as the administration deepens its enforcement-first approach.