Five months before the start of the FIFA World Cup, the State Department will stop processing visas for visitors from 75 countries, including some of the world’s top soccer nations, according to reports.
Key Facts
- The State Department will suspend processing immigration visas for visitors from 75 countries, including Brazil and Nigeria, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing an earlier report in Fox News.
- The U.S. is “pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates,” the State Department said on social media.
- The pause goes into effect Jan. 21 and “will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” according to the post.
- The visa suspension will not apply to temporary tourist or business visas, only immigration visas, the State Department confirmed to Forbes.
How did the U.S. select these 75 countries?
The State Department said Wednesday it selected the countries in accordance with an order issued in November by the Department of Homeland Security that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges” in the U.S.
Chief Critic
“This administration has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. “This action will ban nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 legal immigrants over the next year alone.”
Will this impact U.S. tourism in 2026?
The visa suspensions will not apply to visitors coming to the U.S. for the World Cup. The U.S. tourism industry is counting on an influx of foreign visitors this summer for the tournament, which FIFA expects to drive $30.5 billion in total economic output and create 185,000 jobs in the U.S. this year. The U.S. was the only country in the world to see international visitor spending decline in 2025, according to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) that blamed the drop on multiple Trump administration initiatives that make it more difficult or expensive for foreign travelers to enter the country. Last week, the State Department said it was significantly expanding its visa bond program to include 38 countries whose citizens will be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa. The administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” introduced a new $250 visa integrity fee for most non-immigrant U.S. visas, including tourist, student and work visas.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
