The United States’ recent decision to pause the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries worldwide, announced via the official X account of the Department of State (@StateDept), has sparked widespread concern and uncertainty, especially in countries with strong migration ties to the US. Among those impacted are five nations from the Indian subcontinent: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. While applications for tourist, student, and temporary work visas remain unaffected, the move directly impacts individuals seeking permanent residency in the US through family-based immigration or employment-linked green card routes.
The suspension is a part of a wide-ranging recalibration of how the US processes immigrant visas under the existing immigration law.
What exactly has been suspended?
The suspension applies to immigrant visas alone, which are accorded to foreigners for settlement in the United States.
These include family-sponsored immigrant visas, employment-based green cards, and certain diversity-based categories that result in lawful permanent residence.
US Department of State on X
Crucially, non-immigrant visas remain unaffected. Citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan can still apply for tourist visas, student visas, and temporary work visas, and those applications continue to be processed under existing rules. The policy is, therefore, not a travel ban, nor does it halt all forms of legal entry into the United States.
The hiatus has been described by the US authorities as a temporary, but indefinite hiatus, which means that there is no specific end date to it. Resumptions in processing will be based on an internal review of procedures by the US government on screening and adjudications.
Official justification: Rethinking immigration screenings
The US government has announced that the visa suspension is meant to facilitate a review of the screening and vetting requirements for immigrants applying for visas with a view to assessing the likelihood of applicants becoming reliant on public benefits upon arriving in the US.
The impetus behind this evaluation is based on the well-known provision related to “public charge” within US immigration laws. In this provision, immigration agents have to evaluate an applicant for an immigrant visa and determine whether or not the person will depend on any government programs, thus making them ineligible for consideration based on this factor alone. Although this provision is well-established, this particular administration plans to enforce it.
While the overall rationale has been outlined, the US government has not released any country-specific data explaining why each of the 75 nations was included. There has been no public disclosure of welfare usage statistics by nationality, no ranking of countries by perceived risk, and no detailed explanation tying individual countries to specific shortcomings in documentation or compliance.
US Department of State
Why are these five subcontinent countries affected?
- Historically, Afghanistan has been a difficult country in terms of processing immigrant visas because of conflict, displacement, and underdevelopment in terms of facilities for obtaining civil records. These are some of the key areas in processing an immigrant visa.
- Bangladesh is one of the larger sources of family-based immigrant applications to the US. While most applicants follow legal pathways, the volume of cases and income-based eligibility assessments may have placed the country within the broader review framework.
- Bhutan’s inclusion is perhaps the least intuitive. Nevertheless, its existence adds strength to the argument that the suspension of the agreement has been guided by general policy guidelines, as opposed to bilateral ties and the number of immigrants.
- The number of migrants from Nepal to the US has steadily increased through family ties and employment routes. Like Bangladesh, this pause in the suspension doesn’t indicate an about-face in policy for Nepalese nationals but rather encompasses a broad halt in procedure.
- In fact, Pakistan boasts one of the largest diaspora communities within the US among Muslim-majority nationalities. This temporarily lifted measure is cast within a wider rethink of public charge.
Impact on families and applicants
This has implications for persons or families in these five countries, in that it does not result in complete denial for them. However, their applications pending consideration risk unnecessary delays.
Family reunification visas, especially those concerning parents, spouses, and adult children, are set to be most adversely affected. Job-related visas are also set to have their processing dates extended indefinitely.
Most importantly, this suspension doesn’t mean that any current green card holders are affected since this is a procedural stay, not retrospective in any way.
What happens next?
The US government has not provided a timeline for when immigrant visa processing will resume. Applicants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan are advised to monitor official US Department of State communications and consult authorised immigration counsel for case-specific guidance. Until the review concludes, the suspension remains in place, a reminder that even long-standing legal migration pathways can be reshaped by shifts in policy interpretation.
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