Effective January 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. EST, in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998 on “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States,” the Department of State is fully suspending visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries – Afghanistan, Burma, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – and to individuals traveling on any travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority, for all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories with limited exceptions for:
- Certain diplomatic and official visas
- Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran
- Dual nationals applying with a passport of a nationality not subject to a suspension
- Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for U.S. government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)
- Participants in certain major sporting events
- Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)
Also effective January 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. EST, in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998 on “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States,” the Department of State is partially suspending visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – for nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas and F, M, J student and exchange visitor visas, and all immigrant visas with limited exceptions for:
- Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran
- Dual nationals applying with a passport of a nationality not subject to a suspension
- Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for U.S. government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)
- Participants in certain major sporting events
- Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)
As of January 1, 2026, the Department of State is partially suspending visa issuance to nationals of Turkmenistan for all immigrant visas with limited exceptions for:
- Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran
- Dual nationals applying with a passport nationality not subject to a suspension
- Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for U.S. government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D)
- Participants in certain major sporting events
- Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)
Also, with Presidential Proclamation 10998, as of the effective date of January 1, 2026, the following categorical exceptions provided in Presidential Proclamation 10949 for nationals subject to the suspension on entry are no longer available under the PP: immediate family immigrant visas (IR-1/CR-1, IR-2/CR-2, IR-5); adoption visas (IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, IH-4); and Afghan Special Immigrant Visas.