US set to suspend visa processing for dozens of countries months from the World Cup, including Brazil

The State Department will suspend processing visas for people from dozens of countries, according to a person familiar with the matter, in what marks one of the Trump administration’s most extreme moves in its immigration crackdown.

A department memo says the US is freezing visa processing indefinitely for 75 countries, including Brazil and Nigeria, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a document that hasn’t been made public. Citizens from some of the included countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia already have little chance of getting a visa. But the move will be a shock for people coming from other nations on the list.

Fox News Digital reported the move earlier Wednesday. The move shuts the door to new travelers to the US for more than a third of the world’s nearly 200 countries, upending work and vacation plans. It comes about five months before the US co-hosts the World Cup when hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors are expected.

The move comes after Trump threatened further visa restrictions after an Afghan national shot two National Guard troops in Washington late last year. He’s also moved to end deportation protections for Somalis amid a broader deportation push in Minnesota, home to thousands of people from the country.

“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the Fox report, consular officers have been directed to refuse visa applications until screening and vetting procedures are reassessed. The pause goes into effect Jan. 21, it said.

The Trump administration had already imposed far stricter rules on top of a visa-screening process that has for years been among the most stringent in the world. Last year, the administration ordered officers to scrutinize applicants’ social-media profiles for signs of anti-US views.