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US suspends visas for 75 countries

Gulf News

January 16, 2026

ON THE LIST ARE RUSSIA, PAKISTAN, IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, SOMALIA, EGYPT

- BY JAY HILOTIN

he United States has ordered a complete and indefinite suspension of immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, a move officials described as a “pause”, but one that immigration experts are calling an immigration nuclear bomb.

The freeze, announced by the US State Department and confirmed by the White House, takes effect on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, and applies to countries including Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand, Egypt and dozens of others.

This story is from the January 16, 2026 edition of Gulf News.

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